STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY
Report of the Select Committee on Academic Program Priorities
MAY 15, 1975
Frederick J. Beharriell
William L. Bentley
John F. Dewey
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Arthur A. Ekirch Pong S. Lee
Arthur A. Hitchcock Hugh N. Maclean
William K. Hoistein Audrey C. Nieson
Vincent O’Leary
Laura M. Roth
Edward S. Thomas
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC PROGRAM PRIORITIES
The General Report
| May 15, 1975
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY
1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, N. Y. 12203
May 15, 1975
President Louis Benezet
State University of New York
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, N.Y. 12222
Dear President Benezet:
Please find attached the general report of the Select Committee
on Academic Priorities. In the time available, the Committee sought
to be as responsive as it could to your charge "to prepare a report
by May 15, 1975, recommending priorities for the future of Albany's
academic programs." We hope our recommendations will contribute to
the continuing development of excellence on this campus.
To prepare a report of this scope within 90 days required extra-
ordinary effort on the part of many persons; the Committee owes a
debt of gratitude to all of those who responded so generously to its
requests for help. Specifically, the Committee wants to thank the
heads of departments and programs who assisted the Committee by
supplying information which it requested, often within very tight
time limits. We also appreciate the amount of effort that many in-
dividuals in administrative offices gave to the Committee's efforts.
We are also grateful to Provost Dan Murray, of the SUNY Central
Office, who very graciously assisted the Committee by providing
information about programs on other SUNY campuses.
Most especially, the Committee wishes to extend its apprecia-
tion to J. Fredericks Volkwein and Greta B. Berkson, the staff
persons responsible for working with the Committee. Their dedica-
tion made the preparation of this report possible. We are indeed
grateful to them.
The Committee
Frederick J. Beharriell Pong S. Lee
William L. Bentley Hugh N. Maclean
John F. Dewey Audrey C. Nieson
Arthur A. Ekirch Vincent O'Leary, Chairperson
Arthur A. Hitchcock Laura M. Roth
William K. Holstein Edward S. Thomas
8 * 457-3300 . Cable Address SUALB
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I
The Work of the Committee Page 1
Chapter IIL
SUNY-Albany - Past and Present Page 9
Chapter IIIT
Priorities and Criteria Page 28
Chapter IV
General Findings Page 36
Bibliography Page 45
CHAPTER I
THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE
The Select Committee on Academic Program Priorities was ap-
pointed by President Louis T. Benezet on January 8, 1975, to assess
the present and future status of graduate and undergraduate programs
of the State University of New York at Albany, and to recommend
priorities in light of the increasing constraints posed by state
budgets for higher education. The Select Committee consisted of
ten faculty members, one graduate student and one undergraduate
student. Its membership encompassed a wide variety of perspectives.
At least two members were drawn from each of the divisions of the
College of Arts and Sciences; three represented professional schools;
two Committee members also served on the Graduate Academic Council,
while two others served on the Educational Policies Council.
President Benezet's charge to the Committee was:
1) to review the evidence, appraising mission, perfor-
mance, promise, and future requirements, in all
SUNY-Albany fields offering graduate degrees;
2) to review the range and accomplishment of present
commitments to undergraduate programs, whether
discipline-centered, multi- and interdisciplinary,
or specialized;
3) to include some measure of student assessment within
each field and program;
4) to prepare a report by May 15, 1975, recommending
priorities for the future of Albany's academic
programs, assuming continued steady state resources
or, at the most, limited additional resources for
those programs in the best position to make use of
them.
The Select Committee was convened by President Benezet for an
organizational meeting on January 24, 1975. At that time, he out-
lined the nature of the Committee's task and issued guidelines under
which it was asked to operate:
1. Albany's mission, as stated explicitly in the 1968 Master Plan, and
more generally in the 1972 Master Plan, commits it to a full
range of graduate and undergraduate instructional programs,
to research and to public service. We need to know more clearly
the resources for and cost requirements of each of these so that
they do not continually drain from each other.
2. Certain special missions have been given us, sometimes with their
own funding (EOP, EOC), but often as a general expectation of
University outlays (cultural events; public use of the Library;
information and reference service to special groups, e.g., the
State Legislature). Continuing education is in a transitional
zone; there are some signs of an incomes policy for SUNY as a
whole which might include credit courses.
3. There is no clear prospect of a more heavily weighted
ratio for the cost of graduate instruction, especially for
advanced doctoral students. This presents SUNY-Albany with a
continuing challenge: how to give first-class undergraduate
instruction while maintaining the forward thrust of graduate and
research functions.
4. Doctoral programs in large numbers were started during the late
'60's with the expectation that enrollment growth and State
funding would continue to sustain development in each program.
The current climate requires us to make hard choices among
those programs which are to be advanced, those which are to be
held to a minimum, and those which may have to be discontinued
at the doctoral level.
5. Nothing in the foregoing should restrain us from proposing new
doctorates in innovative programs which can capture the growing
strength of certain areas, or can fruitfully combine single
disciplines into multi-disciplinary or interdisciplinary
doctoral programs, as the Fleming Commission report recommended
for newer universities in the State.
6. The discussion of the Select Committee should be unfettered,
with everything declared fair game; confidentiality may be
appropriate as a general rule, but periodic progress reports
should be made available to the campus community, via channels
to be agreed upon. aut
7. The Vice President for Academic Affairs will be a member ex
officio of the Committee without vote.
8. Recommendations of the Select Committee to the President can
be as specific and explicit as the Committee shall decide.
The report will be made directly to the President. It will be
his responsibility to determine how the substance of the report
should be transmitted to the University Community.
9. Actions to implement recommendations of the Select Committee
should be taken only after due consultation with the organs of
governance, specifically the Educational Policies Council, the
Graduate and Undergraduate Academic Councils and the Executive
Committee of the Senate, as well as the University Council of
SUNY-Albany. The President will be prepared to call such
bodies into extraordinary sessions between May 15 and Commence—
ment, in order that the fruits of the Select Committee's work
not be dissipated during a long summer.
10. Finally, the incoming President must of course be accorded the
option which inheres in his office to review recommendations
and actions that have been prepared for implementation. The
President-Elect will therefore be advised as early as possible
of the deliberations of the Select Committee on Academic
Priorities.
The Select Committee met on January 27, 1975, at which time a
chairperson was elected and the dimensions of the Committee's work
-- the review of 62 programs, 32 of which offered the doctoral de-
gree -- were discussed. On Monday, February 3, the Committee
adopted a work plan to govern its activities over the next three months.
During those months, each Committee member on the average spent more
than 80 hours in plenary or sub-group meetings of the Committee.
Many more hours were spent in preparing and writing Committee documents,
meeting with departmental personnel, and studying voluminous written
materials on SUNY-Albany programs and departments, together with infor-
mation on trends in higher education in New York and the nation.
The Committee decided in its work plan to give initial attention
to the review of doctoral programs. Master's and undergraduate
programs were reviewed subsequently. Doctoral programs received
priority because of their complexity, their prominence on this campus,
and the immediate need to evaluate and assign priorities to these
programs in view of the concern expressed about them by the President
and by educational administrators in the State Education Department.
Further, materials on doctoral programs were readily available because
of the system, wisely adopted by the Graduate Academic Council, of
reviewing all doctoral programs on this campus every five years, in-
cluding the use of outside evaluators. Thus the Select Committee in
most instances could consult a report made by a team of external
reviewers, as well as the results of the deliberations of the Graduate
Academic Council, in its review of doctoral programs. In some cases
such reports were also available on Master's programs. Reviews of
some Master's programs were postponed for a few weeks to enable the
Committee to establish and implement a suitable data-gathering process
for those programs.
-4-
The appraisals by external evaluators in general were particu-
larly useful to the Select Committee because, unlike internal self-
evaluations which seldom publicize a department's own shortcomings,
these evaluations in general followed standard guidelines and pro-
vided relatively frank assessments of the programs concerned.
Inevitably, there was some variation in the candor and the incisive-
ness of evaluators’ analyses among different programs. At times
some evaluators were sympathetic to the fact that a program was new
and consequently were less willing to compare it with those at the
national level, while others simply ignored the age of a program
and appraised it against those with national and international
reputations. Occasionally an evaluator gave a general complimentary
tone to a report; however, a careful scrutiny of the same report
often revealed crucial weaknesses in a program such as the lack of
faculty publications, ineffective departmental leadership, and
faculty divisiveness. Despite these variations, the Select Committee
found the external reviews quite helpful, particularly when used in
conjunction with other available information.
In view of the extraordinary time constraints under which the
Committee was required to operate, its work at all levels chiefly
depended on a review of program assessments by external evaluators
and accrediting agencies; annual reports and statistical data, avail-
able from individual departments and schools, and reports from the
Offices of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies and the Office of
Institutional Research. All program heads were asked to submit
materials that might provide additional information, such as recent
faculty vitae, statements on program strengths and weaknesses, place-
ment records, innovative approaches, manpower trends, and comparative
information about the programs in SUNY and the state. Chairpersons
and program heads responded with a substantial amount of information
which was of great assistance to the Committee. In addition to the
written material, interviews with program personnel were conducted
whenever information necessary to the Committee's deliberation was
felt to be insufficient or incomplete.
Throughout its work, the Committee was keenly aware of the limi-
tations of a process which required the gathering and assessment of
data about relatively complicated and subtle issues within a period ~)
of 90 days. Consequently, the Committee agreed that it would make
recommendations only to the extent that data were available to
warrant such recommendations. The Committee sought to be particu-
larly sensitive to those programs which, after preliminary review,
seemed to be likely candidates for specific recommendations, but for
which not enough information existed to warrant a recommendation.
In these instances, the Committee made conscientious efforts to
secure additional facts through interviews or by securing further
written data. In every case where a firm recommendation is made in
this report, the Committee is confident that it has secured suffi-
cient data to support it. In several cases, the Committee has been
strongly inclined to make recommendations on programs, but has re~
frained from doing so because it has not felt confident that it
possessed the information necessary to warrant those recommendations
at the requisite level of certainty.
The work of the Select Committee was divided into three phases,
each of which took approximately one month to complete. The first,
an information-gathering phase, was designed to increase the Committee's
knowledge and understanding of the programs on the SUNY-Albany campus.
To this end, sub-committees were assigned responsibility for collating
information on a particular set of programs and for preparing a
descriptive summary on each. These summaries were subsequently put
together in program information packets, together with such data as
Graduate Academic Council reviews, outside evaluations, and stati-
stical information prepared by the Office of Institutional Research.
These program information packets were an important means of provi-
ding initial data on all programs to Committee members and were used
extensively in Committee deliberations. Program information packets
were supplemented with additional relevant material as it became
available.
Efforts to secure information continued throughout the tenure of
the Committee; however, after the initial data-gathering phase, the
Committee turned its attention chiefly to the task of assessing the
quality of programs. This required the development of criteria by
which programs were to be assessed. Although it assumed final respon-
sibility for the choice of evaluation criteria, the Select Committee
was greatly assisted in this task by the views of the following groups,
who met with members of the Committee to discuss this matter: the
Executive Committee of the Senate, the Graduate Academic Council, the
Undergraduate Academic Council, the Educational Policies Council and
the Council of Deans. Specific details on the evaluation criteria
finally adopted are contained in Chapter III.
The Committee, during the evaluation process, carefully avoided
the question of priorities, and tried not to give weight to such
variables as demand or the centrality of a given program to the
academic needs of the campus. Such factors were considered during
the last phase of the Committee's work; in this second phase, primary
emphasis was placed on the quality of programs. For this purpose, the
Committee was divided into two six-person teams. Each team had the
responsibility of carefully reviewing and producing a set of numerical
ratings for each of the programs assigned to it. This was a lengthy
process which involved hours of discussion. Each team member was
responsible for independently rating every program. These ratings
were shared with the whole team. Further discussions took place and
final ratings were made. Subsequently, the ratings of each team were
shared with the other and adjustments were made in those few instances
in which disagreements existed.
The final phase of the Committee's work -- priority setting —-
began during the Easter recess in the first week of April. The
Select Committee met for three and a half days to decide on which
programs it would make specific recommendations and the nature of
those recommendations. Every academic program was discussed by the
x6
full Committee during these sessions and tentative decisions were
made. Draftpersons were assigned the task of writing up the views
of the total Committee on groups of programs. They subsequently met
with sub-committees to review these drafts and to check them for any
discrepancies or additional information which was needed. The drafts
were then submitted to the entire Committee for discussion. The
final form of each draft was agreed upon after debate by the full
Committee. Final drafts were prepared and recirculated to all Com-
mittee members.
It should be clear that the Select Committee was not requested
to, explore the detailed means by which its recommendations would be
implemented. President Benezet specifically directed the Committee to:
“prepare a report by May 15, 1975 recommending priorities
for the future of Albany's academic programs, assuming con-
tinued steady state resources or, at the most, limited
additional resources for those programs in the best posi-
tion to make use of them." (Lines added for emphasis)
The Committee proceeded on the assumptions outlined in the President's
charge. Its recommendations are directed at program needs and quality
and were made with the general expectation that any changes which the
President wished to implement would be done with careful attention to
existing expectations and commitments. Though it was conscious of the
need to maintain at least a rough balance between program additions and
reductions, nothing in the Select Committee's report contemplated that
any change would be so radical or immediate that it would jeopardize
the program of any student or abrogate the existing contract of any
faculty member or other university employee. More specifically,
nothing in this Committee's report contemplates or endorses the dis-
missal of tenured faculty as a result of its recommendations.
Additionally, the Committee was not asked nor did it undertake
to consider the relationship of its recommendations to a sudden shift_,
in assumption from one envisioning a "continued steady state" to one
which involved immediate budgetary reductions. As this report is
being written, there is doubt about the future budget of this univ-
ersity. Members of the Select Committee are aware of this and are _J
concerned that the limits of its recommendations are understood by
the members of this campus community in relationship to that issue.
It should be made explicit that the Committee was not charged
with any overall examination of the fiscal management of this univer-
sity. For example, it was not charged with the task of evaluating
and assigning priorities to resources not included in the instructional
budget appropriated by the state. The library, the communications
center, the computing center and administrative personnel, for example,
are not included in the instructional budget. Resources for these
are drawn from specific and separate appropriations; hence, were not
within the scope of the Committee. Prior to any change of personnel
on this campus, particularly in the number of instructional positions,
it would be extremely important that these services be rigorously re-
viewed and their relationship to the instructional budget be fully
explored.
a
Changes in personnel because of immediate fiscal pressures involve
a series of issues far beyond the scope of this report, and need to be
addressed independently of it. The Select Committee did not examine
fiscal or personnel records; such matters were not within its responsi-
bility nor its capacity in terms of the time available. Decisions which
may be required because of emergent budgetary reductions require
consideration of a number of complex dimensions such as contractual
obligations, salary structures, expected normal attrition and current
recruitment plans. This Committee has not nor should its report be
understood to have addressed any of these and similar types of issues.
In its final report, the Committee has refrained from reaching
out to recast this University Center in any fundamental or radical
fashion. Such an undertaking would clearly require far more time
than the three months allowed the Committee, and much broader con-_
sultation and collaboration would certainly be required. Rather,
the Committee has measured existing programs on this campus against )
the standards or quality described in Chapter III, and fixed priori-
ties on the basis of those evaluations and the charter of this Center
as set out in the Master Plans of 1968 and 1972.
The Committee sees its recommendations as having force and
meaning for the next three to five years. During that time it is
imperative that other mechanisms be established which can survey
the SUNY-Albany campus as a whole, as the Select Committee was able
to do, and can assess priorities and goals on a longer term basis
than was possible for the Select Committee.
Early in its deliberations, the Committee recognized the diffi-
culties inherent in a situation where members were asked to rate
their own and other programs. It frankly discussed the problems of
conflicts of interest which could arise and took as many steps as
it could to minimize them. The Committee was concerned that the
academic programs of the persons represented on this Committee
should not be favored; on the other hand, several Committee members
were drawn from departments of unquestioned quality, and the Committee
was concerned that those units should not be penalized simply because
these members had been asked to serve on the Select Committee. Among
the steps taken to confront the conflict-of-interest issue were the
following: no member was permitted to write descriptive summaries on
his or her own program, no members drafted final documents on his or
her own school or division, no member voted on evaluations of his or
her program or on the priorities for his or her program. The Com-
mittee dealt as constructively and openly as it could with these
areas of potential conflict, and believes it succeeded in minimizing
their effect on the Committee's report.
It should be apparent from this description that the work of the
last three months was arduous and demanding. Professional and per-
sonal activities of the Committee members were seriously hampered
and restricted by the demands of the Committee's work. But more than
inconvenience or intellectual and physical effort are involved in this
kind of enterprise. Each member is fully aware of the possible con-
sequences of some of the Select Committee's recommendations. Each
had to put aside personal considerations in trying to arrive at fair
~8-
decisions which would meet tests of these times and this University.
The Committee did as much as it could to provide a report of integrity.
Committee members from time to time had misgivings in undertaking
this kind of assignment, particularly within the time limits laid
down. Finally, we have assured ourselves that decisions had to be
made because of pressing external circumstances. We were called upon
by the President of the University to give our best effort in
recommending those priorities and we believe that we have done so.
The essential criterion to which we tried to adhere was that of
quality. It was our conviction that quality education was the mission
of the State University; it followed that the resources available to
the University must be channeled into those programs which clearly }
exemplified excellence or pointed to a strong potential for excellence,)
The Committee views this report basically as a recommendation for
administrative action. It assumes that the change in leadership on
this campus may well influence the manner in which our recommendations
are carried out. But action is needed soon, if we are to meet our
immediate responsibilities.
CHAPTER IL
SUNY ALBANY -- PAST AND PRESENT
Founded in 1844 as the State Normal School and designated the
New York State Normal College in 1890, SUNY-Albany had long been
recognized as an important center for the preparation of teachers
for the schools of the state when in 1905, the Board of Regents
made a series of important decisions in determining the future of
the institution. They asked that all courses of study designed
to prepare teachers for the elementary schools be discontinued,
that admissions requirements be substantially the same as those
of other Eastern colleges of good standing, and specified that
all students" . . . be required to pursue such subjects of study
as are deemed essential to a liberal education."
In the same year, 1905, Albany was authorized to award the
Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science, and for several de-
cades was the only public college in New York that was extended
this privilege. Graduates receiving either of these degrees re-
ceived a sound liberal arts background as well as the professional
preparation necessary for teaching. In 1914, the school was renamed
New York State College for Teachers.
The College endeavored to prepare, first, a liberally educated
person and, second, a professionally competent teacher. Unlike other
teachers' colleges, Albany restricted its program to the preparation
of those planning to teach the academic subjects offered in the
secondary schools. Each candidate for the degree was required to
have a strong general background in the liberal arts and to study
one or two fields in depth. It should be noted that this distinctive
combination of teacher preparation based upon study in the liberal
arts is especially significant, both because it ensured continuation
of the tradition of excellence in the preparation of teachers, and
because it provided an extensive framework that made possible the
rapid elaboration of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Years of Growth
Prior to World War II, the New York State College for Teachers
at Albany had a steady enrollment of about 1,200 undergraduate and
between 100 and 200 graduate students. In 1962, the institution
formally became the State University of New York at Albany and under-
took the transition from a college stressing the preparation of
teachers to a multi-purpose University Center. Today SUNY-Albany
has about 9,900 undergraduate and 4,600 graduate students. The pro-
fessional staff numbers approximately 1,200, of whom some 823 hold
full-time appointments as teaching faculty. Table 1 illustrates the
shift from a single purpose college, primarily serving undergraduates,
to a major university complex.
-10-
Table 1
Comparison of Selected Institutional Measures
1960 - 1970 - 1974
1960 1970 1974
Full-time Staff
Faculty 180 820 823
Librarians 10 58 49
Non-teaching profes-
sionals 100 355 370
Classified 110 1,000 1,024
Student Enrollment (Full
and Part time) 3,300 13,200 14,500
Degrees & Certificates
Awarded during previous
year:
Bachelors 407 1,366 2,006
Masters 273 768 1,300
University Certificates 0 30 68
Doctorates 0 49 100
Academic Departments 17 50 55
Courses Offered 500 2,500 3,000
Library Holdings 65,000 620,000 820,000
The Albany campus has developed a diverse array of graduate and
undergraduate programs in a relatively short period of time. As the
figures in Table 1 suggest, the decade between 1960 and 1970 was one
of rapid institutional growth and change. To fulfill its mission as
a Center for research and graduate training, the campus secured
sharply increased levels of resources, greatly expanded its. student
population and developed a full range of graduate programs. In one
decade the number of faculty and students increased by more than
four times the 1960 figures. The number of academic departments
tripled, and the library holdings increased tenfold. The degrees
awarded correspond to the increases in enrollments; for example, the
number of bachelor degrees awarded increased from approximately 400
in 1960 to over 2,000 in 1974. Construction of a new campus at 1400
Washington Avenue continued throughout the decade. Some academic
buildings on that campus were occupied in 1966 and most were fully
utilized by 1968.
Given the historical roots of the campus it was quite natural
that the first doctoral programs started were those leading to the
Ed.D. in Educational Administration (1960) and Counseling (1962).
Doctoral programs in Curriculum and Instruction, Reading, and Educa-
tional Psychology began almost immediately thereafter in 1963 and
1964. More than half the SUNY-Albany doctorates produced have come
from these five departments in the School of Education.
a Wy
Doctoral programs in Political Science and Public Administration
began in 1962 when the Graduate School of Public Affairs was a
separate SUNY Unit which joined SUNY-Albany in 1966. The College of
Arts & Sciences developed its first three Ph.D programs in 1963
(English, History, Psychology). Ph.D. programs in Romance Languages
began with French (1964) and Spanish (1966), and those in the natural
sciences began with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in 1965. By 1971
a Ph.D. program had been initiated in each of the major disciplines
in the College.
Other professional schools were established during the 1960's.
Bachelor's degree programs in Business, Nursing, and Social Welfare
subsequently have attracted substantial student interest ,and master's
degree programs in Business, Library & Information Science, Public
Administration, Criminal Justice and Social Welfare are in high
demand, graduating 33% of the campus' master's degrees last year. (By
contrast the School of Education accounted for 53% of the master's
degrees awarded and the entire College of Arts and Sciences 15%).
A unique School of Criminal Justice began its Ph.D. program in 1968.
The School of Social Welfare's Ph.D. was authorized in 1970.
Table 2 shows the organization of academic units and degree
programs included in the Select Committee's review. Excluded from
the Committee's study was an important segment of activity on the
SUNY-Albany campus -- the research centers. These centers are en-
gaged in a range of projects, often with substantial external funding,
and are carried on in conjunction with various schools and departments
of the university. The following are notable examples:
Atmospheric Sciences Research Center
Institute for Public Policy Analysis
Comparative Development Studies Center
Two year College Student Development Center
Neuro-Biology Research Center
Center for Nuclear and Radiation Studies
Study Center for Learning Disabilities
The Space Astronomy Laboratory
Marks of Quality
Matching the quantitative growth of SUNY-Albany has been its
steadily increasing level of quality. With its long reputation as
an excellent undergraduate college and its new status as a University
Center, the campus has continued to attract students and faculty of
high competence. Based on Freshmen Regents Test scores, Albany is the
most selective campus in the SUNY system. And as Table 3 shows, a
summary of undergraduate Scholastic Aptitude Test scores shows that
Albany's selectivity is exceeded in New York State only by Columbia
and Cornell. Further evidence of SUNY-Albany's tradition of
excellence in its programs are found in an analysis in the August 1974
issue of Science which reveals that Albany ranks 16th nationally in
ORGANIZATION OF DEPARTMENTS, ACADEMIC PROGRAMS AND DEGREE LEVELS AT
TABLE 2
SUNY-ALBANY, 1975
B = Bachelors Degree
M = Masters Degree D = Doctorate
C = University Certificate
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
DIVISION OF
DIVISION OF SOCIAL
DIVISION OF SCIENCE |
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
OTHER COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS
Women's Studies
art
Art History
Studio Art
Classics
Classical Archeology
Greek
latin
Greek & Roman
Civilization
Comparative Literature
English
French
French
Romance Languages
German
Hispanic & Italian Studies
Italian
Spanish
Journalisa
Judaic Studies
Music
Philisophy
Rhetoric & Commmications
Russian & Slavic Studies
Russian
|Meatre
|
African & Afro-Am. Studies
Anthropology
Anthropology
Economics
Economics
Political Economy
Geography
Geography
History
History
American Studies
Social Studies
Psychology
Psychology
Puerto Rican Studies
Puerto Rican Studies
Sociology
Sociology
Inter-American Studies
Latin-American Studies
Atmospheric Science
‘Atmospheric Science
Biology
Biology
Medical Technology
Chemistry
Chemistry
Computer Science
Computer Science
Geology
Earth Sciences
Geology
Mathematics
Mathematics
Physics
Physica
HUMANITIES & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & MATHEMATICS
Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinary Interdiseiplinary Business Education School of Business
Asian Studies Environmental Studies Distributive Educ/Commerced Accounting
Chinese Studies Astronomy ACT/BCT Business Administration
Linguistics African & Afro-Am. Studies Astronomy Curriculum & Instruction
Curriculum & Instruction
Curriculum Planning
General Professional
Curriculum & Instruction
Educational Administration
Educational Admin.
Educational Communications
Educational Communications
Educational Foundations
Foundations
Educational Psychology
Educational Psychology
Educational Research
Educ. of Emotionally Dist,
School Psychology
Counseling & Personnel Svcs
Counseling
Student Personnel Svc!
Rehabilitation Counseling
Reading
Reading
Audiology & Speech Patholog;
Audiology & Speech Path.
Instruction
ACT/BCT
TESL-Bilungual Educ.
Curriculum & Instruction
On-Campus Supv. Teaching
Off-Campus Supv. Teaching
Physical Education = Men
Physical Education - Women
School of Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice
School of Library Science
Library Science
School of Nursing
Nursing
School of Public Affairs
Political Science
Public Administration
Public Affairs
School of Social Welfare
Social Welfare
Allen Collegiate Center
Wan and His Institution
College of General
Studies
Educational Opportunities
Program
Office of Institutional Research
-@I-
TABLE 3
0 1 ’ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
COLUMBIA”. 8
Te CORNELL AE
ALBANY on ae |
TT TT TUNIV-OF PENNSYLVANIA, i258. 7]
~~ “COLGATE 7
BUFFALO _ j 1205
BINGHAMTON emia la
STONY BROOK a
EW YORK UNIV TT TY
[a SHESTE TT
;
MEAN SCHOLASTIC APTITUDE TEST SCORES, VERBAL PLUS MATHEMATICAL,
FOR ENROLLED FRESHMAN
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sige
the proportion of undergraduates who subsequently earn a doctorate (15).
Additional recognition of Albany's quality came in March, 1974, with
the initiation of a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
An increasing stress on quality has occurred at the graduate level
as well. As an illustration, Table 4 indicates that while the percen-
tage of applicants admitted to master's level programs at SUNY-Albany
has remained steady during the last four years at approximately 60%,
the percentage of doctoral applicants accepted has steadily declined
in the same period. By 1974 only slightly more than one-third of doc-
toral applicants were accepted at SUNY-Albany. Comparisons with other
SUNY University Centers in 1974 shows that SUNY-Albany was the most
selective in the proportion of doctoral applicants accepted (See Table
5). It was second only to SUNY-Buffalo in the percentage of master's
applicants accepted.
Table 4
Percentage of Graduate Applications Accepted:
SUNY-Albany 1971-1974
Graduate Percent of
Applications Applicants Accepted
Year Received Masters Doctoral
1971 6492 64% 49%
1972 6488 58% 45%
1973 6788 63% 39%
1974 6519 62% 35%
Table 5
Percentage of Graduate Applications Accepted:
SUNY University Centers 1974
Graduate Percent of
SUNY Applications Applicants Accepted
Albany Received Masters Doctoral
Albany 6519 62% 35%
Binghamton 2666 78% 51%
Buffalo 9874 50% 39%
Stony Brook 5202 90% 39%
-15-
Numerous indications of the continuous growth in the quality of
faculty at SUNY-Albany exist as well. The growth of sponsored re-
search is one such index. In spite of declining prospects nationally
for research funding, SUNY-Albany departments and programs have shown
steady increases in the research proposals submitted, in the research
money awarded, and in the expenditures (Table 6). Albany's recognized
potential also has been demonstrated by several major institutional
grants: National Science Foundation Developmental Grants for the
Departments of Mathematics and of Biology, Ford and Pinkerton Founda-
tion Grants in Criminal Justice, and a Carnegie Corporation Grant for
the development of programs leading to the Doctor of Arts Degree.
Another outstanding area of extramural funding has been in
Atmospheric Sciences where the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and
the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center together have external fund-
ing approaching one million dollars. Other units receiving heavy ex-
ternal funding are the Department of Chemistry and the Comparative
Development Studies Center. In addition, the School of Education
currently is benefitting from sponsored program development and
research in areas of societal concern such as counseling, learning
disabilities, and bilingual education.
Faculty publications and national awards are too numerous to
mention here. It is perhaps sufficient to note in passing that five
members of the SUNY-Albany faculty have been selected for Senior
Fulbright Hayes Awards in the past year and an additional faculty
member has recently been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Opening of a New Era
Instead of the large increases in higher education budgets which
marked most of the 1960's, the early 1970's saw an abrupt tapering
of appropriations for operations, maintenance, new buildings and
equipment, SUNY-Albany was not exempt from the reduction in re-
sources. Enrollment projections for Albany were dramatically reduced
and faculty/student ratios, staff/student ratios and space entitle-
ment formulas were effectively "thinned". Albany was designated as
a "mature campus". The "steady state" budget came to prominghce
which in practical terms meant: negligible additions to faculty and
staff; modification of plans for new research, residential and
physical education facilities, and sharp restrictions in new programs
and projects unless they could be achieved through internal realloca-
tion of resources or through external funding.
In 1970 the campus was still defining its future in terms of
the 1968 Master Plan. That plan envisioned a major expansion of
academic facilities and anticipated about 15,500 FTE students by
1975 and a faculty of 1,400. Albany was projected to have about 40%
of its enrollment at the graduate level with over 6,000 graduate
students. The 1968 Master Plan also included a schedule for adding
doctoral programs; a total of 45 was to be reached by 1975.
TABLE 6
(MILLION OF DOLLARS)
EXPENDITURES
SPONSORED PROGRAMS EXPENDITURES
1963 - 1975
State Agencies § Other
Contract Agencies
Office of Sponsored Funds
Research Foundation
State Allocation -
Organized Research
63-4 64-5 65-6 66-767-8 68-9 69-7070-1 71-2 72-373-4 74-5
-9T-
=17=
By 1971, however, it was clear that these projections were opti-
mistic. Major construction plans for the campus were canceled. Eight
of the tentative new doctoral programs had not been started, and by
the end of 1972, sixteen had been postponed or put aside, leaving
thirty-one in place at Albany. Since that time no new graduate pro-
grams at any level were introduced into the University. Additionally,
and of critical fiscal importance, the total headcount of graduate
students leveled off at around 4,500.
These developments are not unique to SUNY-Albany and can be
traced to a number of social, demographic, economic, and political
factors. During this century the American society's view of higher
education has been in transition from elitist to egalitarian. This
transition led to unprecendented growth, but an academic organization§
designed to help "Each Become All He is Capable of Being" is also less
likely to be held in public awe and less likely to enjoy unquestioned
support, than one which, as was true of an earlier era, teaches only
sons and daughters of the elite. Public colleges and universities
have become increasingly subject to definition of their mission by a
variety of external publics. (17,18,39)
A second and more immediate factor is that total enrollment in
higher education is flattening out and projected to decline even fur-
ther by the 1980's, both in New York State and nationally. Based on
the decline in the birth rate, the number of high school graduates
will begin a long decline in 1978. Table 7 shows projected national
trends in higher education enrollments between 1970 and 1990 and Table
8 shows the projection for New York State's full-time undergraduate
enrollments. These were formulated in 1973 and lines A, B, and C
assumed three different rates of college attendance, the most pessi-
mistic suggesting a statewide enrollment decline of over 20% between
now and 1990.
Economic trends have become increasingly negative. The combina-
tions of inflation and recession have driven costs dramatically upward
while reducing available tax and other support dollars. Thus, while
state funds for higher education have increased, total support has
remained relatively stable since 1968, adjusting dollars for inflation.
(42)
Support for graduate education and research has also dropped
markedly. The reductions by such federal agencies and private founda-
tions as NSF and Ford have been well publicized. Table 9 shows the
dramatic decline in federal fellowships and traineeships between 1968
and 1974. This has resulted in a sizeable increase in the number of
self-supported graduate students and of state-supported teaching
assistantships. (Table 10)
-18-
TABLE 7
PERCENTAGE
| |
1970 1974 1978 = 1982 1986 1990
YEAR
Annual percentage tage change in on time equivalent enrollment in higher edu-
cation, actual, 1969-1970, and projected, te 1970-1990. [Carnegie Commission, College
icGraw-]
Graduates and Jobs (New York: Hill, 1973). j
TABLE 8
eT
en: |
Beco |
s |
don Preven Cologs Going
Wis tigh Scho Godoaee
200
Full-time a enrollments
at two-year and four-year colleges
in NY State, actual ‘and projected
| | _—
W008 Wo W973 WS 1 OS HO
-19-
TABLE 9
Graduate Students Supported on Federal Fellowships and
Traineeships, 1968-1974
Fiscal Year No. Students Supported
1968 51,446
1969 42,551
1970 33,240
1971 28,973
1972 24,808
1973 19,649
1974 (projected) 6,602
source: Federal Interagency Committee on Ed\
Part 1 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Pri
ion, Report of Federal Predoctoral Student Support,
ffice, 1970), and unpublished data for recent years.
‘The number projected for 1974 is based upon the Fy 1974 Budget, not final appropriations. Data do not
include students supported on Nin/NIMH training grants.
TABLE 10
Change in Sources of Major Support for Full-Time Graduate
Students, 2,706 Academic Departments in the Sciences and Engi-
neering, 1969-1972
No. Students
Using Source(s) Change, 1969-1972
Sources of Major Support 1969 1972 No. %
Federal fellowships and traineeships 25,558 15,271 10,287 — 40.0
Other fellowships 11,728 10,492 — 1,236 —10.0
Research assistantships 27690-26713 — = 977s = 3:3
Teaching assistantships 31518 33,547 + 2,029 + 6.3
Self-support 23,903 «29,538 «= + 5,635 +23.4
Other 8,935 8,820 =- WS - 10
TOTAL 129,332 (124,381 «= - 4,951 — 3.8
Source: National Science Foundation data from Survey of Graduare ‘Student Support. Comparable data
provided by 2706 academic departments. Data include students in natural and social sciences and engineer-
ing but not in humanities or professional schools.
-20-
Another factor affecting higher education is illustrated by man-
power projections from the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor
Statistics. That agency expects the number of college graduates to
exceed the number of jobs requiring their skills by 12,500 per year
between now and 1980, and by 14,000 per year by 1985. While the need
for accountants, engineers and a variety of workers in the medical
area will exceed the supply, in many other occupations college
graduates will find themselves unemployed or under-employed. Such
projections are always precarious, but the size of the trend gives
cause for concern (40,41).
The general curtailment of appropriations, which have resulted,
at least in part from such forecasts,have had their effect on SUNY-
Albany. Even though there continues to be steady demand for admis—
sions, the preliminary 1976 Master Plan (Table 11) projects Albany's
budgeted FTE enrollment to remain level through 1980 and then drop
slightly to 11,900. This compares to a 1968 Master Plan which pro-
jected budgeted FTE's to rise to 15,752 and a 1972 Master Plan
projecting a population rise to 14,000. Since the fall of 1971,
Albany's enrollment has grown by over 10% (about 20% at the graduate
level) but the size of its faculty has not increased at all.
Within SUNY, the development of the Albany campus is something
of an anomaly. Charged in the "sixties with becoming a full-scale
university, Albany had six years of rapid growth. The other
University Centers in SUNY enjoyed comparable growth in the ‘sixties.
Since then, however, the pattern has been somewhat different.
Binghamton, for instance, has had 70 faculty positions added since
1970-71 and an enrollment increase of 2,200. Stony Brook has grown
even more, by 2,800 enrollments and over 100 faculty. SUNY-Albany,
in contrast, has grown by 1,400 enrollments (500 at the graduate
level) yet has had no increase whatsoever in the number of faculty
assigned. The University Centers are not precisely comparable, and
Albany began the period with a favorable student/faculty ratio. But
it is clear that other Centers have been aided in making changes and
adjustments by the expansion of their instructional resources, while
Albany has been hampered by both the sudden halt in its growth pro-
jections and the absolute ceiling on faculty resources since the
moment those plans were changed.
While New York State tax dollars to all institutions of higher
education increased by 41% between 1972 and 1974, the Albany campus"
share increased by only 15%,which is the lowest of the four SUNY
Centers and does not match the rate of inflation. On the basis of
quality and application demand, SUNY-Albany has made a strong case for
sustaining growth to 14,000 FTE, but this will depend upon legisla~
tive and SUNY support, as well as upon renovation of the downtown
campus.
Programs at the Doctoral Level
Concern about doctoral programs has been especially marked.
Several prestigous national organizations such as the National Science
=21-
Table 11
30,000
25,005
20,006
15,000
OC
AMOK
chk
10,000
5,000
37 8 6) 70 172 «7374756 80 84
$8 69 70 71 «72 «73 «74 75 76 77 81. %
FTE ENROLLMENTS, 1967-68 to 1974-75, and ENROLLMENT
PROJECTIONS of 1968, 1972 and PRELIMINARY 1976
MASTER PLANS Source: S.U.N.Y.
GO
Foundation, Carnegie Commission and National Academy of Sciences have
been particularly concerned with the problem of an oversupply of
Ph.D's. It is not unusual to see projections as in Table 12 which
forecast an increasing gap between the number of doctorates awarded
and academic demand. Such projections have their pitfalls, but fairly
widespread agreement seems to exist with the following statement of
the National Board on Graduate Education:
"Given these cautionary comments on the general limitations
of manpower forecasting, however, the Board does believe
that the specific forecasts of diminished future academic
demand for Ph.D's based largely on demographic considera-
tions, are broadly accurate. This suggests that an
increasing percentage of new Ph.D.'s will be employed in
the nonacademic sectors of the economy, and, for this
reason, expansion of traditional doctoral programs oriented
toward the academic market does not seem warranted at this
time." (27)
These data and statements are especially sobering in view of a recent
study by David Brenneman in which student perceptions of poor employ-
ment prospects tend to discourage graduate work, even when financial
support is available. (4)
Responding to this trend, the New York State Board of Regents
and the Commissioner imposed a two year (1971-73) moratorium on all
new doctoral programs in the state and appointed a Regents Commis-
sion on Doctoral Education, chaired by Robben W. Fleming, President
of the University of Michigan. After a year's study of doctoral
education in New York State, the Fleming Commission submitted an
extensive report and set of recommendations. Its major conclusions
are aptly summarized in the following paragraph.
"What is called for is not a single-minded demand for
more money for all doctoral programs. What is required
is a concentration of available resources to ensure the
maintenance of those doctoral programs that meet the
criteria of quality and need. Support of other programs
is not warranted....The highest quality institutions are
often also the most efficient.,,.It would generally be
more economical for the State to sustain the high quality
of established programs than to attempt to raise quality
through large investments in low quality programs...the
time between the inception of doctoral programs and the
achievement of quality has historically been quite long
...eIt would be more expensive for the State to provide
additional doctoral education for more students at
public institutions than to subsidize their education at
private institutions."(10)
-23-
TABLE 12
60
Projected Range
50K of Doctorates
40;-
Doctorates Awarded
Nonacademic Demand
20
DOCTORATES AWARDED (in thousands)
Projected Range .
‘ ‘of Academic
Academic Demand Demand
i) | 1 ! 1 J
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985,
YEAR
Comparison of projected doctorates awarded, academic teaching demand,
and.nonacademic demand. [Adapted from Carnegie Commission's College Graduates
and Jobs (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973)].
-24-
Upon receipt of the Fleming Report, the State Board of Regents
accepted the following set of principles summarized in the Regents'
"position Paper Number 19" as follows: (32)
1. The Regents should regard all the doctoral programs at both the
public and private institutions, as constituting together an inter-
related system for doctoral education.
2. The Regents should have a general policy of concentrating pro-
grams at a relatively limited number of institutions in the interest
of both highest quality and the most efficient and economical use
of limited resources.
3. The Regents should establish special committees to review the
quality of and need for doctoral programs in selected disciplinary
areas. Only programs meeting standards of present or potential
high quality, and need should be offered.
4. New York State should lend its financial support in both the public
and private sectors only to programs meeting the standards of
existing or potential high quality, and need. Programs without
these qualifications should not be supported.
i 5. New York State should strengthen its support of all programs
i that meet the standards of high quality and need.
6. The Regents should sponsor increased cooperation and coordina-
tion in doctoral education by the institutions within the State.
7. The Regents should ensure that doctoral education at all institu-
tions within the State be accessible to all qualified New York
students. Economic and cultural barriers to the realization of this
goal should be eliminated.
8. The Regents should require that, as part of the 1974 Statewide
Master Plan Progress Report, all the doctoral granting institutions
be required to review their doctoral programs from the point of
| view of determining anew their purposes, place, and need in over-
all institutional plans.
9. The Commissioner of Education should end the moratorium on
new doctoral programs when ready to implement criteria and pro-
cedures that will ensure that any new programs fully meet rigorous
standards of potential quality, and need.
These recommendations form the basis for the State Education Depart-
ments' "Doctoral Project" which began last year, with evaluations in
chemistry and history, continued this year with evaluations in
astronomy, physics and English, and next year will include German,
French and Spanish.
The Albany campus has for over a decade used external consultants
to evaluate new program proposals. In 1970 procedures were established
for the internal and external evaluation of all graduate programs on a
five year cycle. In 1972 Chancellor Boyer issued SUNY's new policy
and guidelines for the evaluation of new and existing graduate prog-
rams which were quite similar to the procedures already in operation
at Buffalo and Albany. Currently SUNY-Albany programs are evaluated
-25-
by four different sets of procedures:
(a) SUNY-Albany, SUNY, and State Education Department pro-
cedures for evaluation of new graduate programs.
(b) SUNY-Albany and SUNY procedures for the evaluation of
continuing and current graduate programs.
(c) Procedures established by the New York State Education
Department for statewide evaluation of key doctoral
programs in conformity with the Fleming Commission
Report.
(d) Evaluations by national, regional and state accrediting
agencies and organizations.
The most controversial of these are the evaluations by the Regents
and the State Education Department of all doctoral programs in the
State. Disagreements have focused on the quality and need criteria,
but most particularly on the procedure involved.
Writing about the need to evaluate doctoral programs, President
Louis Benezet observed:
"The most important principle to which universities hold in
the process is the responsibility of their own to monitor
the quality and viability of their efforts in graduate
studies...Geographic factors such as relative scarcity of
programs in one region can be as important as statewide
considerations. Regional and national pictures can change
in short spans of time. It could be discovered that
doctoral production in departments which are being delibera-
tely improved is an important asset to that region, as well
as an essential element in the pervasive intellectual morale
of a young university center....The determination whether
or not to continue a doctoral program depends upon many
eriteria which involve the individual campus, its current
state of development, its clientele, its region, and its
relationship with its own departments as well as with other
institutions ."(2)
It was the conviction that a campus must take responsibility for
periodically and rigorously testing the viability of its own programs
at the doctoral level, and at other levels as well, which led, at
least in part, to the appointment of the Select Committee.
Perspectives on Priorities
Accepting the need to fix priorities does not and should not
imply a simple acceptance of the definition of the university by
current budgetary trends. While it is true that there are shifts
in the age composition of our populations, it would be a mistake
simply to extrapolate them into what the profile of the university
is likely to be fifteen years from the present. Projections of this
=26=
kind are notoriously unstable. One need only recall the projections
which were made regarding the need for engineers before and after
Sputnik flew over the United States.
Forecasts too often fail to take into account significant
changes in the economic conditions of the country, variations in the
patterns of those who seek higher education, and the changing nature
of higher education itself. They fail most critically to recognize
the role of the university as the major producer of the information
necessary to deal with an increasingly complex world. The university
is not only a place where people go to gain some form of vocational
accreditation. One of its most significant functions is the produc-
tion of new knowledge, a role which is not popularly understood and
yet one that is most crucial. It is a delusion to contend as some
do, that we have enough knowledge and all we need now is the skill
and will to apply it. Even a cursory examination of virtually any
field reveals substantial gaps in the knowledge necessary to solve
very immediate human problems. More than that, the relevance of
the knowledge we do have tends to decay at a more rapid rate than
ever before.
Rather than a shrinking role, the university of the future will
most likely play a much larger role in a knowledge-based society.
Further, there is a growing concern in this nation for the quality
of life. The arts, humanities, and history are among the most impor-
tant treasures of the human race. The university has had in the past,
and will have in the future, a major responsibility for transmitting
this knowledge and developing our appreciation for these aspects of
the human existence. Perhaps the highest present priority for this
university is to clarify its role in modern society, making certain
that the resources are available.
Having stated the foregoing, it is also clear that even with an
improvement in resources, they will be finally limited. In the
view of the Select Committee, this University Center cannot con-
tinue to attempt a full speed "horizontal development" on all
levels. It simply cannot do everything at once and do it well. It
is the responsibility of all persons on this campus -- administration,
faculty and students -- to make a more effective case for increasing
Albany's share of state tax dollars. But even under the most
optimistic circumstances, we are not likely to see huge increases in
faculty lines for the Albany campus in the near future. We must
become much more selective in our goals and wisely choose among the
options available. We must also make prudent decisions about the
realtive speed with which programs can be developed on this campus.
These decisions are not required simply because of the exigen-
cies of financial pressures, but also because of the responsibility
of this University to itself and to the larger community. No
institution can possibly be all things to all people. It best
fulfills its missions by articulating its goals and organizing its
resources in ways which optimize the attainment of those goals.
Programs vary in quality and this University has a duty to support
-27+
only those that are of the highest calibre. SUNY-Albany has the
responsibility of supporting needed programs through a developmental
period to the extent that it is possible, but finally, programs which
are not central to its mission, which have demonstrated an inability
to operate effectively, or which have not met the test of quality,
must give way to those programs which can meet those tests.
-28-
CHAPTER III
PRIORITIES AND CRITERIA
The obvious question which must be answered before matters of
specific priorities can be considered is: what is the general
mission of this University Center? A simple answer, and an accurate
one, is that this Center has a variety of missions: providing a
rich educational experience for its undergraduates, fostering high
level graduate programs, training a variety of practitioners, serv-
ing the needs of contemporary society in general and the region of
the state in which it is located in particular, and conducting
research over a broad range of interests and needs.
But it is also accurate to say that SUNY-Albany has a distinc-
tive mission, one which colors all of these activities. SUNY-Albany,
as stated explicitly in the Master Plans of 1968 and 1972 and as
currently stated in the tentative 1976 plan, is committed to a
spectrum of graduate and undergraduate programs, research and public
service. But that which distinguishes it, along with the centers at
Binghamton, Stony Brook and Buffalo, from the other educational
facilities in the SUNY system, is the fact it is a university center.
While it carries out a broad mandate, its distinct responsibility is
to foster and maintain doctoral programs which have an overriding
emphasis on the development of knowledge. A university center ought
to be marked by a distinct emphasis on research and scholarship.
"In addition to their value to society, graduate education,
scholarship, and research are of central importance within
the university. The most basic task of the university is
learning, in the sense of transmitting the known and dis-
covering the new. The unity of the university derives
from its commitment to learning, which is the foundation
of all its activities, whether in undergraduate education,
graduate education, research, or public service. Graduate
education and research are not mere appendages to the
university, but are instead its defining element, infusing
a spirit of inquiry and a concern for scholarship through-
out the institution." (26)
The hallmark of a university is its commitment to high quality
and innovative research: its thrust may be concept-focused, as in
traditional disciplines, or problem-centered, or of an applied nature,
as in professional schools. But to emphasize research does not and
cannot mean a diminution of concern for quality teaching at all levels
of the university. The Committee shares the view that faculty members
engaged in the task of expanding the limits of our understanding and
knowledge are likely, on the whole, to be superior teachers -- persons
who not only transmit information, but stimulate excitement in search-
ing and striving for new understandings.
The Select Committee is well aware that research activity can be
translated into a sterile and ritualistic exercise. Ultimately, the
-29-
answer to that kind of abuse lies in peer review; the occasional
abuses that do occur cannot be allowed to be used as a rationali-
zation for denying the responsibility of carrying out research in
a university setting.
Albany's history as a quality undergraduate institution (for
many years the only public-supported campus in the state authorized
to grant baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts subjects), and its
tremendous growth in the 1960's and evolvement into a university
center, have given it a reasonably balanced and integrated comple-
ment of graduate and undergraduate programs. A significant invest-
ment has been made in the development of the College of Arts and
Sciences and in the establishment of professional schools in
socially pertinent areas: criminal justice, education, public
affairs, social welfare, business, nursing, and library science.
This campus presently has a broad mixture of conceptual, applied,
professional and clinical areas of study and research. SUNY-Albany
is viewed as a "mature" campus and its resource allocations have
been made accordingly -- to an institution that has been a univer-
sity for only slightly more than a decade. Since 1971 it has not
been provided with the resources that would permit the sufficient
strengthening of some existing programs or the planning of addition-
al ones pertinent to either overall campus development or regional
and state need. It is imperative that SUNY-Albany press its case
for additional resources more effectively. It is equally important
that it evaluate the performance and potential of existing programs
so that it avoids asking too many to do too much with too little.
How did the Select Committee carry out its charge? What
criteria were used to assess campus programs and set priorities among
them? Sources of information for the three-stage process have been
listed in Chapter I. For the graduate programs, the most important
informational documents were faculty vitae, external consultants'
reports, and the Graduate Academic Council evaluations. For the
non-graduate academic units the Committee depended upon similar
internal information as was available and developed additional
material as needed.
The Select Committee had several years worth of data at its
disposal. Table 13 illustrates the kind of statistical data which
was available on most departments, schools, and programs. As will
be noted, five-year trends were available for most departments and
programs. The most recent data typically available to the Committee
was applicable to the Fall 1974 semester (enrollment, section size,
number of faculty, cost, student/faculty ratios, faculty contact
hours, etc.). In some isolated cases, Spring 1975,data were secured
when it seemed necessary. Most of the degrees awarded data pertained
to the academic years ending each June; an exceptionwas that doctoral
degree data included all doctorates awarded through December 1974.
After discussions with the campus groups described earlier, a
review of studies conducted at other universities, and discussions
among the members of the Select Committee, six criteria were chosen
* =30-
TABLE 13 .
SUNY-Albany
Office of Insticutional Research 1970-71 THROUGH 1974-75 PROGRAM INDICES wit: Department X
FACULTY DATA TS7O-71 T97T=7Z T97H-75 TOTS-76 THT ]
Ceeeeeeeeeest ‘ Full-time | Part-time Full-time | Part-time Full-tise | Part-time Full-time | Part-time Full-time Parc the
BEAD COUNT:
‘TENURE 23 ° 28 ° 2 0 a o 28 °
NON- In Tenure Stream 13 o ww o 15 0 13 oO 13 oO
TENURE Kot in
Tenure Strean 3 002) 2 0¢17) o 05) 2 15) 1 20)
Total Head Count 39 oy [44 017) 42 05) 42 15) 42 203)
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT
INSTRUCTIONAL VALU! 38.75 43.27 40.01 42.93 40.91
FACULTY COST OF FTE VALUE:|
Tenure 437,334 485,282 g$ 511,394 $ 560,278 $
Kon-Tenure 160,788 244,972 195,866 227,805,
Total. $ 598,622 730, 254 $ 707,260 $ 788,083 827,165
1970-71, 1971-72 1972-75, 1973-76 1974-75 H
STUDENT DATA Total] Lower |Upper|Grad. | Total] lower] Upper |Grad, | Total] Lower|Uover (Grad. | Total| Lower|Upper|Grad. | Total! Lower |bover|Grad.?
doacesnietee Div, [Div Div. | Di Div._|Diy, Div. Div. [oiv. fotv. !
DEPARTMENT MAJORS
ta by level of Student
Os ” “ y (284) (246) |(246) (175) | (175) 211) |(211) 181) (181)
Head Count: 72| 286] 38] 472| 106] 326] 40 | soz} 136] 317] 49f 449] 108} 299| 42] 370] 48 | 292} 30!
: =
FTE Value: In Department — [7 < 3) 29| 29] 95] 34 a1} 32| sal
Enrolled = =s— = '
Elsaihers a aft = es{ 7m} m{ 5 66] 69] 6a} at
Total iz Be 100} 100] 100} 100{ 100 | 100} 100] _ 100!
DEPARTMENTAL ENROLLMENTS: =
(Data by level of Course);| .
Total Enrollments 2455) 1716 | 695} 45 | 2713 | 1822] 831 [* 60 | 2852] 1924] 865 |e 639 3147| 2317] 737}% 93] 2805 | 2023 716) 66!
Average Section Size 34.9 27.9 Je 9-0f 33.8] 43.7] 26.5]}4 9.3] 30.1 | 40.4] 23.0] % 3.5%
Total Faculty Contact Hr: 166] 115 |x 33 293 158 93{* 42] 294 173 89 32!
Total Student Credit Hrs.| 8570 | 6144 | 2134| 292 | 9239| 6379] 2532] 328 | 9675] 6623] 2666 | 386] 10843] isi} 2224] 468] 9715 | 7229| 2162] 324.
Of Dept-s = wee
Majors : ~ Let 2i| 5} 65} 78] 19 367] 7a
Of other a5 P= ;
Students - = — ef 79] 95] 35] 22{ ax] a7] al 22!
7
. Total 577.0 409.6 42.31 25.1 1622.4 425.3 1168.8 | 28.3 }651.91461.5 1177.7 | 32.7 | 732.11543.41148.31 40.4 fo54.3 1481.9 [144.1] 28.3
DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITY |
as: ee 1370-71 1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75
DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES
(AWARDED: Bachelors 125 isl 187 159 |
Masters We 12 2 9 i
Univ. Certif.s o o o o 5 |
Doctoral o 2 1 6 |
Total 139 165 195 1% !
FACULTY Average Weekly ;
WORKLOAD Contact tirs. MA NA 7.85 6.83 7.18 H
Average Weekly i
Credit Hours 2d 8.3 7.4 8.1
FACTULY/STUDENT RATLO:
1: 146.9 14.38 16.29 17.05 15.99
RATIO: dits completed :
dtta_Enrol led wa 85% ain 80% 82% i
GOST OF INSTRUCTION:
Credits Enrolled s 34,92 $ 41,98 $ 40.28 = 4L.2b $ 42.57
Credits Completed s MA 49.23 49.22 49.90 52.13 i
® Data conce:
ning graduate sectional loads, and contact hours includes enroliments of advanced doctoral students.
=§1-
as the basis for priority decisions for each program. These
criteria were:
1. Quality and Effectiveness of Program
2. External and Internal Demand
3. Present Costs and Costs for Improvements
4. Leadership and Capacity for Growth
5. Academic Centrality
6. Relationship to SUNY System and Regional Needs
1. Quality and Effectiveness -- Judging the quality of any
academic program is a complex business. Not only do a large number
of factors determine quality, but the factors need to be given dif-
ferent weights depending upon the nature of the program. The quality
of classroom teaching, for example, should presumably receive more
weight in evaluating an undergraduate program. Although faculty
research productivity is important in an undergraduate program, it
is of much greater concern on the graduate level. Additionally, the
Committee expected different kinds of scholarly publications from a
Ph.D. granting department than from one granting the master's or
bachelor's degree only.
To evaluate program quality the Committee, drawing from a
variety of evaluation sources, constructed a rating scale shown in
Table 14. Readers of this report should constantly bear in mind
that the Committee generally did not compare or rate programs against
each other. To the extent it was able to do so, each program was
evaluated in terms of its own field and its quality was compared to
similar programs on other campuses. For example, the quality of the
Ph.D. in biology was judged against other biology programs across
the country and not by comparison to a Ph.D. program in mathematics
or history. To make such judgments, the Committee was greatly
assisted by the external evaluators’ reports. Where such reports
did not exist, each Committee member depended more upon his or her
own judgment based upon the other information available.
The Committee members' collective ratings resulted in a quality
scale score for each program. Recognizing the danger in placing too
much emphasis on relatively narrow differences among rather crude
scores, the programs were then placed into groups which corresponded
to natural clusters of scores. Doctoral programs fell into five
clusters which after discussion,were regrouped into three (compares
favorably, adequate but with some weaknesses, compares unfavorably) .
Master's programs fit into three general groups (strong, adequate,
weak) which were then collapsed into two (acceptable, deficient), and
non-graduate academic units were placed in one of two categories
(acceptable or deficient). It was never intended by the Committee
that these ratings be used as a means of giving a simple "grade" to
each program. The issues are too complex for that kind of exercise.
The ratings did permit a systematic and uniform means by which each
program was assessed and provided one useful point of reference
during the Committee's discussion of programs, in their full context,
at the time of priority setting.
TABLE 14
QUALITY RATING SCALE
I. Faculty
A. Scholarly publication and research. D. Internal visibility: initiative and success in seeki
B. External visibility: peer judgnent and recognition; honors SUNY grants etc.; peer and stuient perception of faculty.
and awards; national activity; external funding for
E. Leadership and departmental cohesion, morale and cooperation.
faculty research,
C. Calibre of teaching, advisement, and graduate student super-
vision; sufficient "graduate" faculty qualified to direct
éectoral dissertations.
Strong faculty which compares Adequate faculty quality Inadequate faculty
favorably with others in SUNY which needs improvement. quality.
and nation.
1 2 3 4 5
I. Graduate Students
A. Selectivity of admissions criteria. C. Support: initiative and success in securing student support.
B. Quality of students based on test scores, grade averages, D. Calibre of research and dissertations. as
honors and awards, "special" talents, publications. E. Success in placenent.
Strong students who compare Adequate student quality ~~ “tnadequate Sixdent —
favorably with others in which needs improvement. quality.
SUNY and nation.
1 2 3 4 5
SL
A. Clarity and validity of program goals. / E, Adequacy of facilities e.g., library, research equipment etc.
Breadth of field coverage. F, Success in securing external support for program.
Innovative features. G. Uniqueness fran programs within New York State,
D. Complementarity with other programs
Strong program which compares “Raga program qulity = Insdequate program
favorably with others in SUNY and ce age aller quality.
and nation.
1 2 3 4. 5
(STR, RS ES TI I le
TV. ‘Total Department /School Quality
Strong Department which cam Adequate Department which Inadequate Department
pares favorably with others in needs improvement. Quality
. SUNY and the nation. ¥ 5 ‘ 5
1
v. are needed to give this graduate program
the potential of receiving a fnber one rating?
-=7€-
-33-
2. Demand -- Demand or need for a program derives from a variety of
sources. The following statement from the Fleming Commission summarized
very well the perspective of the Select Committee:
"Within the context of this Report, "need for programs" has
several connotations. It includes the need to sustain the
expansion and transmission of knowledge in even the most
esoteric fields; the need to produce skilled manpower for
employment in industry, education, government, or other
sectors; the need to develop understanding and methodologies
that may be used to deal with societal problems; and the
need for new forms and types of programs in doctoral education.
The evaluative procedure should give weight to these several
aspects of need according to the special character of each
discipline. Assessments of need should be made on regional,
statewide, and national bases, again according to the special
character of each discipline." (10)
The demand or need for each program was assessed from four perspec-
tives: applications received, internal service, manpower projections,
and placement of graduates. This type of analysis was particularly
stressed with graduate level departments and programs.
External demand for a graduate program was measured by the number
of master's and doctoral applications received for a two-year period,
and each academic unit was classified high, medium, or low external
demand. Internal service was defined as the number and percent of
graduate course enrollments by students from other departments. For
example, a master's student in German who takes a European history
course raises the history department's internal service. The data
for Fall 1974 were used to classify departments as high, medium, or
low internal service. Information about undergraduate programs was
secured directly from the statistical program indices described above.
In special cases additional data on student demand was secured from
the Office of Undergraduate Studies.
The Committee had access to a variety of data about the demand for
trained personnel in a number of disciplines. Some data were supplied
by departments and some were available in publications (see the Biblio-
graphy). Both as an indicator of quality and of demand, placement
information was also considered by the Select Committee. The first and
usually the current employment of virtually every doctoral degree re-
cipient was available. Less information was available for master's
degree recipients, although several departments' reports were relatively
complete. Very spotty data wereavailable for bachelor's degree graduates.
3. Present Costs and Costs for Improvement -- Data on the present
costs for each program were obtained from the Office of Institutional
Research and. included specific information of the following type:
a) total departmental budget
b) total FTE faculty salaries
c) cost of instruction based on number of credits enrolled
and completed
-34-
Information was also provided on external funding, faculty grants and
student assistantships and fellowships.
Resource indices were prepared for each program, each of the divisions
of the College of Arts and Sciences, and each professional school. Thus,
the Committee was able to review the proportion of resources allocated to
each department or program within the parent division or school and to
gain a comprehensive and comparative view of the instructional budget
of the university. Finally, as it reviewed each program, the Committee
tried to lay out in very specific terms what resources would be required
to advance programs, which were judged deficient, to an acceptable level
of quality.
4, Leadership and Capacity for Growth -- A point which became in-
creasingly clear to the Select Committee as it moved through its evalua-
tion process was that simply providing additional resources would not
necessarily insure that a deficient program would improve its quality.
Effective leadership, program coherence and the awareness of what con-
stitutes quality and how to obtain it are as crucial in improving a pro-
gram as are resources. The Select Committee attempted to gauge this
dimension and consider it in weighing questions of priority.
5. Academic Centrality -- Academic centrality was another criteria
adopted by the Select Committee to be considered with the others. Ob-
viously, a good deal of subjectivity was involved in these judgments,
but the Select Committee thought it important to make explicit the fact
that deliberations regarding the degree to which a program should receive
priority consideration were influenced by the belief that certain basic
and traditional disciplines should be maintained and supported. Though this is
not by any means a governing factor, the Committee gave some weight to
programs which were highly related to other disciplines or regarded as
"core" areas,especially for the Ph.D. degree.
6. Relationship to SUNY System and Regional Needs -- The Select
Committee obtained comparative data from SUNY Central Administration on
the other three university centers relevant to its review of programs on
this campus. Included was information pertaining to the quality of the
graduate programs offered at each of the other centers, statistics on
enrollment, faculty/student ratios, number of degrees awarded, and inter-
nal and external support. A11 of these data were examined in relation to
similar information on SUNY-Albany. While the Committee sympathizes with
Central Administration's views on unnecessary duplication of programs,
the other criteria discussed above make a clear case for the support of
programs exhibiting quality and academic centrality.
The Select Committee was similarly mindful of the needs of the region
in which SUNY-Albany is located. When appropriate information was secured
on the availability of higher educational opportunities in various depart-
ments, consideration of the input of the transfer flow from community
colleges was also weighed.
-35-
Obviously, not all of these criteria were relevant to each program
and the Committee had to balance the relative importance of each in making
its judgments. The one exception was the criterion of quality -- that
remained constant and each program was in turn tested against it.
-36-
CHAPTER IV
GENERAL FINDINGS
As a means of expressing priority choices, the Committee addressed
two questions:
1) To what extent should any change occur in the status of the
programs under review?
2) Which programs, if any, should be given more or fewer resources
than normal workload allocations would dictate?
With respect to the first question, the Select Committee has recommended
no change in the academic status of approximately 802% of the programs on this
campus. The Committee found these programs to be in the main soundly con-
ceived and administered. A number are clearly superior and several are
nationally distinguished.
The Select Committee has also identified a limited number of programs
which it believes (in the light of criteria adopted by the Committee)
should be reduced in status. Thus, it has recommended the phasing out,
by termination or suspension, of six doctoral programs, three programs
at the master's level, and three at the undergraduate level. In several
other instances, the Committee has identified conditions which it considers
seriously detrimental to a quality academic program. In these cases, it
has suggested that subsequent reviews of these programs be undertaken after
an appropriate period of time, to determine whether or not the conditions
cited by the Committee have been rectified. It has also recommended the
early development of one interdisciplinary program at the doctoral level,
and the addition of one undergraduate program.
As for the allocation of resources, the Committee sought to specify
areas where resources could be saved. Some of its decisions about resources
followed logically on decisions about program status; others stemmed from
the study of particular programs for which no change of status was recommended,
but did not appear to require the degree of resources presently budgeted.
Besidesassistantship allocations (to be discussed below), the Select
Committee recommended a reduction in resources for about half of the departments
in which a program was recommended for suspension or termination. The
Committee also recommended a reduction in resources for five programs which,
in its judgment, commanded a greater share of resources than the present
level of these programs seemed to require. It should be noted that a recom-
mendation for a reduction in the status of a program did not automatically
lead to a recommendation to diminish resources in the department involved.
In fact, the Select Committee in one instance, having recommended the sus-
pension of a doctoral program, recommended that additional resources should
be allocated to the department, to enable it more swiftly to attain the
conditions requisite for re-institution of the program in question. The
Committee adopted this particular course of action because in this instance,
it could feel confident that departmental leadership and potential for
growth gave good promise of the eventual emergence of a program of high
quality.
-37-
The Select Committee also recommended increased resources for five
programs, to maintain their quality or to bring them up to an acceptable
level. Some other programs, which seemed clearly to require increased
resources to assure an acceptable level of program quality, were not in
fact recommended for an increase in resources since the Committee, in
these cases, felt that it had some reason to doubt that such an increase
in resources would be very effectively employed at the present time.
Given evidence of determination and capacity to make an effective use of
increased resources, the Committee feels that these programs should
receive such an increase. The Committee has not recommended additional
resources on the basis merely of ordinary workload needs, feeling that
such decisions are better left to the regular channels of administrative
decision-making.
The recommendations of the Select Committee, as they relate to specific
departments and programs, have been sent to the heads of those departments
and programs, as well as to President Benezet. It was his decision, reached
after consultation with the Select Committee, that the findings of the
Committee should be shared with the departments and programs involved,
and that they should be given an opportunity to forward to him any comments
about the Committee's findings. Further, President Benezet has indicated
that, before he takes any action on the Committee's report, he plans to
consult with appropriate campus governance bodies.
General Comments
Beyond its specific recommendations, the Select Committee has also
identified several matters of a general nature which are important to a
University Center concerned about quality education. Chief among these
are the role of faculty research, and its bearing on faculty workload;
the status of the University Library, and the complex problems associated
with the allocation and stipends of graduate fellowships and assistantships.
The Committee has also felt it appropriate to comment on three particular
aspects of undergraduate education at SUNY-Albany, and on the relationship
of this University Center to the state-wide SUNY system.
Faculty Research & Workload
The Select Committee's report reflects a firm belief that excellence
in teaching at every level is a basic responsibility of a university center.
The Committee is equally convinced that the University has a special com-
mitment to research and scholarship, to the discovery and the advancement
of new sources and forms of knowledge. But the Select Committee does not
accept the view that one chooses either research or teaching and its
report continuously reflects the Committee's view that there is no real
conflict between teaching and scholarship, in the fullest and best sense
of both of those endeavors.
The Committee applauds the recent recognition that has been given to
distinguished teachers on this campus; efforts to identify and acknowledge
such figures should be energetically pressed. It is concerned that the
teaching process, particularly at the undergraduate level, should continue
to be valued and recognized on this campus. In this connection, the Committee
believes that it is important that all faculty members, particularly those with
distinguished scholarly reputations, carry a share of undergraduate teaching.
Those who conduct the most exciting research are, very often, precisely those
who can create the most exciting kind of educational experience on the
undergraduate level.
-38-
The failure to stress substantial and original research, particularly
at the doctoral level, defeats the essential aims of education at a univer-
sity center. To ensure the achievement of its scholarly mission, the
University must be concerned that it recruits, promotes and accords tenure
to those faculty members who have the interest, capacity, and will to
engage in productive research and publication. But it is equally important
that the University provide faculty with the time and resources for scholar-
ship. Chairpersons, for example, need to adjust teaching schedules so that
significantly productive younger faculty, in particular, may have time for
research. Faculty not so oriented may reasonably be asked to spend a
relatively greater proportion of their time in departmental administrative
tasks as well as in teaching.
In its review of programs, the Committee has noted several departments
which have a uniform or standard teaching load for all faculty members,
irrespective of the amount of scholarly research and productivity in which
they are engaged. It is important that all departments carefully assess
their workload distribution at regular intervals to ensure that those
faculty members not engaged in substantial research assume administrative
and teaching responsibilities beyond those generally required of faculty
members who are so engaged.
The Librar,
The Select Committee was not asked to assess, even in any general way,
the operations of the University Library, nor did it attempt to do so.
A review of the Library by a team of highly-qualified external evaluators
is in any event scheduled to take place in the near future. Still, the
Library is so central to the operation of a university center of high
quality that the Committee has felt constrained to make a number of obser-
vations in this regard. Complaints about the lack of space provided for
research and scholarly work are numerous, but the Committee recognizes
that the physical features of the Library building make it unlikely that
problems of this kind will ever be completely solved. There seems to be
extraordinary and campus-wide difficulty, expressed by students and faculty
alike, in locating books which have been officially "accessioned" by the
Library and are recorded as having been shelved. No doubt the external
evaluators will be able to propose remedies for this situation.
While current Library book holdings are sufficiently strong, a number
of gaps do exist. A summary of relevant data provided to the Committee may
be appropriate here.
In the Humanities, holdings appear strong only in German; satisfactory,
but in need of selective improvement, in Classics, Comparative Literature,
Philosophy, Hispanic Studies, French, and English (which, however, given
the presence in Albany of the 4.5 million volume New York State Library,
may be described as reasonably strong). Areas with weak collections
appear to be Art History, Russian, and Theater.
As for the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, holdings in
only one area, Computer Science, could be characterized as weak. Library
resources seem to be strong in Atmospheric Sciences and Mathematics, and
also in Astronomy, because of the Dudley Observatory holdings. In Biology,
Chemistry, Geology and Physics, holdings are satisfactory but appear to
need selective improvement.
-39-
Materials in the Social Sciences and related professional schools are
generally considered strong by reviewers. Collections are rated good for
Economics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology; those for Anthro-
pology need to be improved. As for History, the SUNYA library is con-
sidered to be strong only in a few areas, notably United States and New York
history; some gaps are apparently filled in by the New York State Library.
Holdings appear to be adequate in Geography and Afro-American Studies, but
weak in Puerto Rican Studies.
In the School of Education, holdings in nine of the ten departments
have been estimated as ample or adequate; only those in Speech Pathology
and Audiology are characterized as inadequate. Collections for some
other professional schools, such as Business, Criminal Justice, Public
Affairs, Social Welfare, and Nursing are at least adequate, in some cases
strong.
The Select Committee received somewhat less information for the twenty-
odd other programs that were reviewed. However, summarizing from the data
available, it appears that library holdings for the support of instruction
and research, specifically at the graduate level, are developing adequately
for the most part, although there are some weak areas in which acquisitions
need to be accelerated. The Committee recognizes that weaknesses in Library
holdings in any given area may well reflect on the procedures employed by
individual departments and schools, not on the policies and procedures of
the Library itself.
Finally, a major problem, remarked by external evaluators of individual
programs as well as by faculty and students at SUNY-Albany, concerns the
journal collection. In many disciplines, particularly the sciences,
journals are the major means of communicating new ideas and research. Many
departments expressed the view that the management of the library's journal
collection is a hindrance rather than an aid to this communication. Several
departments, impatient with the Library, are actively pressing for the
establishment of departmental journal libraries. The Library director feels
that such libraries are not feasible at SUNY-Albany and that the problem
must be solved without decentralization. The Select Committee is not in a
position to make an instructed recommendation on this matter, but does
record that this is more than a simple irritant; it is a problem which
continues to exist, and which effectively acts as a deterrent to scholarly
research on this campus. The Committee urges the administration to take
prompt and vigorous action, by whatever means, to ensure that this dis-
tressing situation is brought under control.
Fellowships and Assistantships
An issue raised repeatedly in the review of programs and departments by
the Select Committee concerned the number and distribution of fellowships
and assistantships, and the amount of their stipends. Rather than try to
deal with these on a department-by-department basis, the Committee believed
that it might more usefully comment in a general way about policies governing
the allocation and stipends of university fellowships and assistantships.
-40-
In 1974-75 the stipend paid for a graduate award was $2,800 for half-
time, and $2,000 for one-third time, both for a period of nine months,
plus a waiver of tuition. The first figure has been increased for next
year to an average of $3,000, with a range of $2,800 to $3,200. While the
decision to make these increases was certainly commendable, the fact remains
(to judge from relevant studies made available to the Committee (46)) that
stipends of this kind at SUNY-Albany for 1975-76 will be barely competitive
since other institutions have raised their stipends as well (22). Higher
awards, at least for some deserving students, would be extremely helpful
in attracting students to SUNY-Albany; the Select Committee urges that
further efforts be made to increase the amount of stipends available to
students.
In 1974-75, the University gave 658 awards: 119 fellowships, 92
teaching assistantships, and 447 graduate assistantships. In addition
there were 232 externally supported assistantships, making a total of
890.
Doctoral candidates are better supported than master's students and
those in the disciplines are better supported than students in the
professional schools. Students at the master's level are in many, but
not all, cases supported by $2,000 appointments. These statements all
refer to full-time students.
Less than half of the full-time graduate students at SUNY-Albany are
supported. This is significantly less than the national average of about
70% support of graduate students of all types. Actually the teaching
assistantships derive from 23 faculty lines divided linto 4, and most
non-teaching assistantships derive similarly from service lines. The
23 teaching lines used for assistantships at SUNY-Albany are significantly
less than at the other University Centers (40 at Binghamton, and 70 at
both Buffalo and Stony Brook).
The Select Committee believes efforts should be made to increase
the number of assistantships. It is not desirable to break up existing
faculty lines, but should additional growth positions be allotted to the
campus, some of these should be used for assistantships. In addition,
wherever possible and appropriate, service lines should be broken up
into graduate assistantships.
The type of award used in each department depends on departmental
needs and desires -- the primary technical requirement is that teaching
assistants actually be assigned to teaching. Despite the fact that
official descriptions of fellowships make these awards appear to be
relatively prestigious, there is often little distinction in the treatment
of fellowships as opposed to assistantships. In some departments, fellow-
ships are used primarily to give outstanding students the opportunity to
pursue a course of study, with minimal work demands made upon them. For
example, some doctoral students in education are teachers who spend a year
in residence and who must be full-time students for that year.
It is the view of the Select Committee that fellowships should be
treated on a different basis from assistantships. The stipends for fellow-
ships should be made as large as possible and should be awarded chiefly to
doctoral students, on a competitive, campus-wide basis. While it is desir-
able to maintain most fellowships for the discretionary use of particular
departments, the Committee suggests that a small pool should be established,
-41-
on a university-wide basis, to which each department could submit the
names of its best students. Applicants would then be judged by a
university-wide selection committee and awards made strictly on the
basis of merit.
The distribution of graduate awards is, of course, a complicated
process; certainly the Select Committee has not had time to explore that
process in great detail. However, a number of general principles emerge
from the Committee's assessments. First, it is important to recognize
that the primary reason for having graduate support is to support top-
quality students. Allocations should be made in such a way as to attract
the best graduate students to the programs at Albany. Priority for fellow-
ships and half-time assistantships should be given to doctoral students.
Assistantships at $2,000 are appropriate to master's level programs,
except where teaching demands are excessive.
It is also the view of the Committee that departments of high quality
which are handicapped in attracting graduate students because of the lack
of financial resources should be given special consideration. Specifically,
the Committee suggests that, to help such programs get under way, they
should be given an extra allotment of graduate assistantships, for at least
a limited period of time, until external funding can be generated by the
faculty. The Select Committee has identified several programs of high
quality which have difficulty in recruiting, and for which such temporary
assistance would be most appropriate.
Beyond this, the Committee believes that in each department where
there are teaching needs to be met, the irreducible minimum number of
assistantships should be given. Any excess should be based on the quality
and need of the programs and the quality of students being attracted. It
is entirely appropriate that graduate assistants be used for "professional
assistance," such as grading or research. Only exceptional students should
teach regular courses; competent but less advanced graduate students might
be used in general laboratories or recitation sections, as appropriate.
In departments whose workload exceeds the capacity to attract good students,
consideration should be given to recruiting talented students from other
departments wherever possible.
Undergraduate Education
Although the Select Committee has stressed SUNY-Albany's role as a
University Center requiring a special responsibility for the development
and maintenance of quality doctoral programs, it should not be inferred
that the Committee is satisfied with anything less than the highest
quality of education on the undergraduate level as well. Indeed, it is
important to recognize the link that exists between high quality graduate
and undergraduate programs. It is common to observe that high quality
doctoral programs tend to be associated more often than not with excellent
undergraduate programs. Competent scholars are likely to be attracted
to a center with doctoral programs of high quality; their presence lends
vitality to undergraduate programs, not only by their direct activities
in teaching, but through their scholarship and their influence on the
general tone of a department.
-42-
The Select Committee did not undertake to deal with undergraduate
education in generic fashion, but instead dealt with it, as with the
graduate area, on a program-by-program basis. Nonetheless, the process
of program-by-program review made clear that some areas required comment
by the Committee. The first of these relates to advisement. Not to
become involved with every detail of undergraduate counseling at SUNY-
Albany, which includes departmental as well as professional counseling
systems (through University College), it is apparent that, as is true for
many campuses, advisement at SUNY-Albany has clear room for improvement.
That is particularly true on this campus, since undergraduate requirements
have effectively been eliminated. This creates a wide range of choice for
undergraduate students, but it also creates a tremendous problem for many
undergraduates in making those choices. To the extent that an unstructured
undergraduate program continues to exist, it is imperative that efforts be
made to improve the present level of counseling and advisement.
The Select Committee noted other problems that trace to the elimina-
tion of undergraduate requirements. For example, the data available to
the Committee indicates that, while a number of students do take a diversity
of courses in a number of areas, some students majoring in a few specific
fields are taking three-farths of their courses in those major fields. The
Select Committee did not undertake to evaluate, in any systematic way, the
present policy that mandates no distribution requirements on the under-
graduate level. It urges the Undergraduate Academic Council to reconsider
this matter, and to reassess the procedures now in effect on this campus
and their consequences.
One activity on the undergraduate level which the Select Committee
enthusiastically supports is the development of interdisciplinary studies.
This is a procedure under which students are able to combine interests
cutting across several disciplines, without leading to the serious dis-
sipation of resources that may be involved when new departments are created
to deal with very special and narrow interests. Under one of the inter-
disciplinary systems now in effect on this campus, students are encouraged
to develop, under faculty supervision, individual interdepartmental majors.
Although the Committee did not have the opportunity to make an exhaustive
survey, these programs appear to be developing quite well. The Committee
encourages the Undergraduate Academic Council to study and assess the
quality of the interdisciplinary programs being taken by individual students.
In several areas such as Linguistics, Chinese Studies, Asian Studies, and
Women's Studies, interdisciplinary programs have been established as a
major or second field. For the most part, these programs require no
chairman, no faculty lines, and no resources, beyond those needed for minimal
operation. They maintain the integrity of the basic disciplines, yet
are responsive to the more specific needs of students. The Select
Committee favors the development of these kinds of flexible arrangements
within the University, and sees them as far superior to the prolif-
eration of distinct departments and programs. While they do require
organizational care, and intelligent monitoring, they have one great
advantage: they pool the resources of existing departments. Should
-43-
a program fail or diminish in popularity, the University is not left
with a department or program of only marginal utility to the campus.
In turn, the interdisciplinary major is allowed relatively greater
flexibility in scheduling; and he or she enjoys the unique advantage
of exposure to one topic and a range of courses in various departments.
Relationships Within the SUNY System
One of the issues with which the Select Committee struggled was
the relationship of SUNY-Albany to the statewide SUNY system. This
was a matter of some importance for the Committee, with particular
regard to the Committee's charge to assess graduate programs at SUNY-
Albany.
The State University of New York at Albany is one University Center
among four within the university system of the state. As such, it must
play a dual role. First, it must indeed be a University Center,
providing broad opportunities for quality graduate education. Second, it
must function as a member of the statewide system of higher education,
contributing through its particular competencies to the system as a
whole.
A recurring theme of the 1972 Master Plan for the State University
of New York is that increasing priority should be given to this second
role. The Master Plan states, for example, that the system is striving
toward the goal of becoming "truly one university" rather than "just a
loosely federated university system." (31) While the Select Committee
endorses increased collaboration among the units of SUNY, it believes
that it is important to recognize the limits to which the "one university"
concept may be implemented without undue detriment to a central role of
the university center -- fostering quality graduate research.
One means of moving toward "one university" would be a reduction
of duplicated efforts, consolidating resources in single, presumably
more efficient units. In its most extreme form, this policy would
mean, for example, only one mathematics program at the doctoral level
in the entire SUNY system. While such an arrangement might appear to
yield substantial savings, it is obvious that, for individual faculty
and students, this policy would be, at the least, counter-productive.
To say nothing of the difficulty of travel, and the relocations which
would necessarily be involved, such a policy would make the operation
of many doctoral programs almost impossible. There is too little
appreciation of the symbiotic relationships which need to exist among
doctoral programs. It is of little importance to those at Albany in
a doctoral program in chemistry that there is an effective mathematics
department at Stony Brook.
-44-
To provide realistic opportunities for students to become broadly
educated, and for faculty to maintain superior programs, a reasonably
complete offering of what have been called "core disciplines" must be
available at each university center. Admittedly, "core" is a somewhat
vague concept, but the Select Committee is convinced that graduate in-
struction in general will be jeopardized if a significant number of the
traditional disciplines are not represented at the doctoral level on
the Albany campus.
This is not to say that SUNY-Albany should not avoid duplication of
effort. When areas of study have no important cognates, when societal
demands for certain kinds of knowledge are slight, or, more generally,
when an area of study is clearly peripheral in character, it is pre-
sumably unnecessary for such an area to be represented at all four
University Centers. At the same time, potential for unique contri-
butions to education within the system should be recognized and strengthened.
The Albany campus possesses, as does each of the centers, a number of
programs and specialities which demonstrate particular excellence.
Generally these strengths are not found in the same disciplines, to the
same degree, in each of the four University Centers.
The Select Committee holds that each center may, to some degree, com-
plement the others by capitalizing upon its unique strengths. This is
especially true at the level of specialization and sub-disciplines.
Thus, while each center should maintain an adequately broad offering
of the central disciplines, a degree of priority at each center should
be given to those specialities showing the greatest complementarity to
other offerings within the SUNY system, while simultaneously maintaining
adequate competency in other specialities basic to that discipline.
The Select Committee also emphasizes that academic arrangements
among universities in the immediate geographical area appear to have con-
siderable potential for effective cooperation. Particularly at the
doctoral level, the sharing of faculty expertise and research equipment
within the cities of Albany, Schenectady and Troy should be developed in
ways that are academically effective and financially efficient. About
50 students annually now enjoy the benefits of a twelve~year graduate
cross-registration agreement among SUNY-Albany, RPI, Albany Medical
College, Albany Law School, and Union College. Anticipated tuition
waiver agreements should lead to sizeable increases, since a number of
programs will benefit from a greater degree of cooperation. The mathe-
matics departments at SUNY-Albany and RPI, for example, have complementary
strengths; joint cooperation between them is logical. The Select Committee
urges the SUNY-Albany administration to continue its efforts to develop
these collaborative opportunities.
Select Committee on Academic Program Priorities
SPECIFIC PROGRAM RECOMMENDATIONS
May 15, 1975
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DIVISION OF HUMANITIES
Background and Structure
Department of Art:
Art History
Studio Art
Asian Studies Program
Chinese Studies Program
Department of Classics
Department of Comparative and World Literature
Department of English
Department of French
Department of Germanic Languages and Literature
Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies:
Italian
Spanish
Journalism Program
Department of Judaic Studies
Linguistics Program
Department of Music
Department of Philosophy
Department of Rhetoric and Communication
Department of Slavic Languages and Literature: Russian Program
Department of Theatre
Women's Studies Program
DIVISION OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Background and Structure
Department of African and Afro-American Studies
Department of Anthropology
Department of Economics
Environmental Studies Program
Proposed Program in Environmental and Resource Science and Technology
Department of Geography
Department of History:
American Studies
Social Studies
Latin American Studies
Department of Psychology
Puerto Rican Studies Program
Department of Sociology
DIVISION OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
Background and Structure
Department of Astronomy and Space Science
Department of Atmospheric Science
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Department of Computer Science
Department of Geological Sciences
Department of Mathematics
Department of Physics
TABLE OF CONTENTS - PAGE 2
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Background and Structure
Department of Business Education
Department of Counseling and Personnel Services
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Department of Educational Administration
Department of Educational Communications
Department of Educational Psychology and Statistics
Department of Foundations of Education
Departments of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation
Department of Instruction
Department of Reading
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology
Supervision of Student Teachers
OTHER PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
School of Business
School of Criminal Justice
School of Library and Information Science
School of Nursing
Graduate School of Public Affairs:
Background and Structure
Department of Political Science
Department of Public Administration
Program in Public Affairs
Program in Political Economy
School of Social Welfare
SPECIAL ACADEMIC UNITS
James E. Allen Jr. Collegiate Center
College of General Studies
Educational Opportunities Program
PREFACE
The following descriptions of the Select Committee's assessment
of specific programs include only some of the main elements considered
by the Committee in reaching its conclusions on priorities. These
descriptions represent a synopsis of the Select Committee's discussions
and are not meant to convey the full range of information available to
the Committee nor the wide variety of the dimensions which were explored.
As described in Chapter I of the Select Committee's General Report,
each program was reviewed by several different sub-committees and at
least twice by the full Committee. Variations in the length of comments
about programs do not necessarily reflect any corresponding variation
in the amount of time or the variety of issues considered in particular
programs. For example, some programs were discussed at great length
and a considerable amount of data were reviewed; however, the Committee
felt that only a relatively short priority synopsis was needed. In
summary, the Committee's comments in this section are intended to convey
only the major factors supporting its conclusions, not to describe all
of the detailed information considered in assessing each program.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DIVISION OF HUMANITIES
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
Division of Humanities
Background and Structure
The Division of Humanities is the largest academic unit on the
SUNY-Albany campus. Comprising 199 full-time faculty members, four-
teen departments and five separately organized programs, the Division
of Humanities also contains more administrative sub-divisions than any
other division or school on the campus.
Six departments in the Division of Humanities currently offer the
Ph.D. degree: Classics, English (also offers the D.A. degree), French,
German, Hispanic and Italian (Ph.D. in Spanish), and Philosophy, although
German and Philosophy have not yet awarded the Ph.D. degree. (The first
in German will be conferred in June 1975.) Of these departments, Eng-
lish,with forty-seven full-time faculty members, is by far the largest.
The English Ph.D. program has awarded twenty-one degrees. The other
Ph.D. granting departments in the Division have awarded a total of
fourteen Ph.D.'s. While this Ph.D. output is relatively small (in
comparison, the Chemistry Department has awarded thirty-nine Ph.D.'s
since the start of its program in 1965), there are a number of reasons,
discussed below, which have held Ph.D. enrollments in the Humanities
down.
Thirteen M.A. degrees are offered by twelve departments: the six
departments mentioned above (the Hispanic and Italian Studies Depart-—
ment offers M.A. degrees in both Spanish and Italian), Art History,
Studio Art, Comparative and World Literature, Rhetoric and Communica-
tion, Slavic Languages and Literature (M.A. in Russian) and Theatre.
B.A. degrees are offered by each department mentioned above and by
the Music Department and the Judaic Studies Department. In addition,
interdisciplinary B.A. degrees are offered by program faculties in
Linguistics, Chinese Studies and Asian Studies. Second fields or
minor concentrations are offered through most departments and in
Women's Studies and Journalism. The Division thus offers a broad
range of degree and second field programs in several general areas
which include language and literature, fine arts, area and ethnic
studies, and philosophy.
The language and literature departments contain two-thirds of the
faculty in the Division of Humanities. Music, Art (History and Studio)
and Theatre include another twenty percent of the faculty, with the
remainder in Philosophy and Judaic Studies. Other area studies and
Women's Studies are taught by faculty drawn from the language and lit-
erature areas or from departments outside the Division of Humanities.
The quantitative breakdown of the faculty closely parallels the
enrollment and program alignment in the Division. The principal grad-
uate thrust is in the traditional language and literature areas (and
Philosophy) with the fine arts and other areas restricted to the B.A.
or M.A. levels. This general orientation strikes the Select Committee
Division of Humanities - Background & Structure - Page 2
as wise, since the fine arts tradition is stronger in some other SUNY
units. In this time of scarce resources, it is doubtful that SUNY-Albany
could argue effectively for growth in the fine arts or in ethnic or area
studies.
The Division of Humanities has experienced declining student enroll-
ments since 1971. This pattern is not unique to SUNY-Albany. The increas-
ing career and employment skill orientation of undergraduate students and
a virtually non-existent job market in academe for new Ph.D. 's in many
of the humanities disciplines, has turned large numbers of students away
from programs in the liberal arts. The development of new interdisciplinary
programs with a focus on contemporary social problems has also drawn
students away from traditional humanities programs. Government and pri-
vate funding of higher education and research has not favored the human—
ities in recent years, drawing away still more students who flow with the
dollars available for support.
All of these well known pressures have caused enrollments in the
Division of Humanities to decline by six percent during the past two
years while total University enrollment has grown by five percent. At-
tendant to this decline, the Division of Humanities has experienced a
cost per credit hour rising at a faster rate than the rest of the Univ-
ersity. The student/faculty ratio (now 13.9) in the Division has declined
at the rate of two percent per year for the past five years (from 15.2)
while the ratio for the total University has been increasing at about
1.5 percent per year.
Many of the graduate programs in the Division of Humanities labor
under the additional handicap of a very small enrollment base. While
no one would argue that large numbers of students should be recruited
for Ph.D. programs with very low placement potential, very small numbers
of graduate students clearly present problems for several departments
(outside the Division of Humanities as well as within).
The problem can be seen clearly when one looks at the graduate ap-
plications for the six departments in the Division that offer Ph.D.
programs. These six departments together received 279 Ph.D. and M.A.
applications in 1973-74, and 171 of those were for programs in English.
Thus 108 applicants represented the total graduate applicant population
from which five departments could draw.
The Division of Humanities is encouraged to devote considerably
more effort to the identification and recruiting of first-rate graduate
students. Scarce graduate assistantships and fellowships should be used
to attract only students with outstanding potential. When an individual
department cannot use an assistantship to the best possible advantage,
it should be reallocated on a short-term basis to a department with a
better applicant pool. A major recruiting and publicity effort should
be undertaken by the Division to increase the visibility of its programs
and its strong faculty. Cooperative efforts among several departments
and programs are encouraged in such areas as mailings, posters, brochures,
and specialized bulletins. The objective of this effort would be to
increase the size and quality of the applicant pool for all of the
Division's graduate programs.
Division of Humanities - Background & Structure - Page 3
The Select Committee has given considerable attention to internal
service in addition to external demand. Internal service is defined as
graduate courses given to students from outside the offering department.
In the Fall of 1974, the departments in the Division of Humanities taught
730 credits to students from other departments (not necessarily from
other divisions or schools). If the 410 external credits offered by the
English Department are removed from the Division's total, one finds that
ten departments offered only 320 external credits last fall, which
amounts to under three full-time equivalent graduate students per de~
partment drawn from outsideeach department. While it should be noted
that foreign language departments should not be expected to attract
large numbers of external enrollments, the total external service offered
by departments in the Humanities Division is small.
It is understandable that, in a time of declining enrollments, in-
dividual departments and programs would try to retain as many of their
own students' credits as possible. However, an over-specialization in
one area, particularly where there are very few graduate students in the
program to begin with, seems to the Select Committee to be unwise. More
sharing of students, particularly among departments in the Humanities
Division, could result in more well rounded programs, exposure to a
larger number of top flight scholars, and perhaps even better chances
for success in the job market for graduates.
The Select Committee holds the view that significant strengths in
the Division of Humanities should be maintained despite the forces which
may continue to exert downward pressures on enrollments and workload
and upward pressures on costs. A strong liberal arts orientation is
an important part of this University Center's mission. The contributions
to the cultural and intellectual life of this community which are pro-
vided by the Division of Humanities are too important to be allowed to
atrophy because of the vagaries of the job market or short term shifts
in student interests. The concerns of the Division of Humanities re-
present the highest order of refinement in our history and civilization
and are not to be treated lightly in considering our priorities for the
future.
Having said this, however, the Committee wishes to stress, particu-
larly for the Division of Humanities, the importance of the development
of high quality programs and faculty. This University Center can ill
afford to support high cost, low enrollment programs which do not re~-
present the finest extensions of scholarship and teaching in contemporary
higher education. The obverse of the coin of difficulty in the job
market is the opportunity to attract outstanding established and emer-
ging scholar/teachers who will move the programs in the Division of
Humanities to new qualitative levels and who will amply justify the
continued financial support of the State and the rest of the University
community.
DEPARTMENT OF ART: ART HISTORY
The programs in Art History are of serious concern to the Select
Committee. On the basis of a generally critical external review, the
M.A. program in Art History was described last year as "not viable"
by the Graduate Academic Council. The principal problems seen by the
Graduate Academic Council were inadequate resources, poor student
quality, and dissension and disorganization within the faculty. Weak-
ness in the library and slide collections for Art History is another
problem. With FTE figures of only six faculty and eight graduate
students, and with a relatively large undergraduate program, the
Department has difficulty offering enough graduate courses to enable
M.A. students to maintain registration as full-time students.
The Select Committee feels that Art History should be an im-
portant Department for this University. Art History programs could
have great integrative potential. Strong relationships could be
built with other departments, particularly the language departments,
in much the way that the Classics faculty has done. A new chair-
person, currently being sought, could make a significant difference
in bringing the faculty together and in improving the quality and
direction of the Department's efforts.
Recommendation:
The Select Committee recommends that the M.A. program in Art
History be suspended and that resources allocated to the Department
be somewhat reduced. Faculty efforts should be devoted to improving
the undergraduate program, to strengthening the faculty group in
Art History, and to the development of stronger relationships with
other departments. External support for improving the library and
slide collection should be sought. When the Department demonstrates
that it can manage a quality M.A. program with a clear focus and can
recruit quality students, the M.A. program should be reinstituted.
DEPARTMENT OF ART: STUDIO ART
The B.A. and M.A. programs in the Studio Art Department are
viewed as strong, well conceived and well managed. The faculty is
highly rated by external reviewers. The recent separation of the
Studio faculty from the Art History faculty and the hiring of a
new chairman, along with the acquisition of additional space for a
sculpture studio, is seen as providing ample opportunity for the
further growth and development of the Department.
The Studio Art faculty is considered fully capable of handling
the more professionally demanding B.F.A. and M.F.A. programs, but a
move in this direction would require considerable analysis of the
need for such programs and Albany's competitive position vis-a-vis
other SUNY units and private colleges in the region.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAM
The interdisciplinary program in Asian Studies, offered only at
the undergraduate level, is doing quite well and should be maintained
at current support levels. The program is staffed chiefly by pro-
ductive, interested faculty drawn from other departments and areas.
The program has a small but dedicated student following and adds an
attractive element to our undergraduate program at very low cost.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
CHINESE STUDIES PROGRAM
Chinese Studies offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate major
only, and is unique in the SUNY system in that it requires three
years of Chinese language and offers Chinese courses at the 300
and 400 level. The program is coordinated by a member of the German
Department and includes several faculty from other departments.
With a small but highly interested group of students, the program
adds diversity to the undergraduate curriculum at very low cost.
It is of satisfactory quality and should be maintained.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS
The Classics Department is viewed as functioning very well in
the context of the relatively sparse resources allocated to its
program. The Department is well led and has excellent faculty and
student morale. The Department's response to declining enrollments
has been deliberate and well thought out, and could serve as a
model for other departments in the Division. Service courses in
Greek and Roman Mythology are seen as particularly useful for other
programs in the University and the Department's emerging focus on
Classical Archaeology holds great promise within the SUNY system.
While no new resources are recommended for Classics in light of
relatively low enrollments, the Department is encouraged to seek
first rate, proven productive scholars for replacement of existing
faculty when lines become available.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with
normal resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF COMPARATIVE AND WORLD LITERATURE
The Department of Comparative and World Literature has a com-
plicated interdisciplinary organization which masks a total faculty
group with manifest strengths and quality. Several of SUNY-Albany's
best known Humanities scholars are associated with the Comparative
Literature program.
A recent external evaluation of the M.A. program was very
complimentary and particularly cited faculty and student quality.
The Select Committee recognizes the area of Comparative and World
Literature as one with significant integrative potential for the
Humanities Division. The external evaluators shared this view and
indicated that Comparative Literature has great flexibility and
potential for cooperative development with other departments. They
noted that "A university of the type of SUNY-Albany, aspiring to
play a well earned role in the nation, may have its best chances of
establishing a strong graduate program in the Humanities by emphasi-
zing interdisciplinary curricula and giving the strongest possible
support to Comparative Literature". It is arguable that the
Department of Comparative Literature might serve in a central and
organizing capacity for the other foreign language and literature
departments. If the Comparative Literature program is to live up
to its sizable potential, academic plans in other departments will
have to be made with an eye to strengthening the Comparative
Literature program.
A new chairman is currently being sought. The present chairman,
who is an internationally known scholar, will remain on the faculty.
Strong leadership is necessary to realize and direct the significant
potential that exists for a first-class program.
Recommendation: The Division of Humanities is encouraged to consider
the reorganization and redeployment of its faculty resources in the
area of Comparative and World Literature. The current program draws
several of the Division's top scholars, but more visibility for the
M.A. program and more synergistic activity should be possible.
While additional faculty resources are not called for at this time,
the possibility of strengthening the Comparative Literature Depart-
ment and programs should be an important consideration in the future
planning of several other Humanities Departments.
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
The Department of English plays a pivotal role in the Division of
Humanities. English has granted more Ph.D. degrees than all other
Humanities departments combined. Sixty-one percent of all doctoral
applications in the Humanities last year were for the program in
English. Enrollments in English courses by students from outside the
Department are fifty percent greater (in terms of credit hours) than
such enrollments in all other Humanities departments combined. With
24 percent of the Humanities faculty (27 percent of the Division's
tenured faculty), English is obviously a very important part of the
total Humanities program and indeed important to the University at
large.
The Select Committee's review of the Department of English points
up many strengths. Graduate students in the Department compare very
favorably with students in other programs in the Division. Admissions
standards in English are considered to be among the most rigorous
half dozen on campus. The breadth of course coverage, particularly
with regard to the various periods of English literature, is consid—
ered excellent. Recent external reviews of the graduate program in
English cite the Department for suitable attention to teacher training
and student advisement. Placement of graduates has been quite good,
considering the very difficult market for new Ph.D.'s in English.
The Department has responded effectively to new trends in teaching
by including work in film, science fiction, utopian fiction and the
recent novel.
While there are obvious strengths in such a large and productive
Department, the faculty quality is quite mixed. Of the twenty-eight
senior faculty, no more than eight or ten are active scholars with
strong reputations and only five have national visibility. In view
of the critically important role that English should play in the
Division and the University, the Department of English must continue
its efforts to upgrade the quality of the faculty by careful recruiting
and close attention to scholarly abilities and achievements in pro-
motion and tenure decisions. It should also be clear that the Depart-
ment cannot sustain aquality Ph.D. or Doctor of Arts program without
the underpinning of substantial faculty scholarship.
Recommendations:
1. In the Department of English, clear control of the graduate program
should continue to be placed in the hands of productive faculty with
substantial scholarly records. Although it may not be necessary
to establish a separate graduate faculty, there ought to be a care-
ful distinction made between undergraduate and graduate teaching,
and between teaching of M.A. and Ph.D. level courses.
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH -- PAGE 2
Hiring decisions should be subject to the most careful scrutiny
to ensure that individuals with absolutely top level ability and
potential are obtained to fill junior positions. SUNY-Albany has
a substantial enough record and image to attract only the very
best people out of the present buyers'market for new English Ph.D.'s.
Positions at senior levels, when it is felt appropriate to fill them,
should be given only to established scholars who present solid evi-
dence of potential for continued high level productivity.
The search for a new chairperson for English should focus only on
candidates who are in close touch with significant developments
in the profession and who, through personal scholarship and writing,
have national prominence. Leadership of such a large and important
Department is clearly a critical issue for future success. It is
vitally important that the very best person be found to lead the
Department for the next several years. Efforts to locate such a
person must be closely monitored by the Division and University
administration.
Again, because of the importance of the Department of English and
its graduate programs to the Division and the University, the
Ph.D. and D.A. programs in English should be reviewed by external
reviewers within three years. The objective of this review should
be to evaluate improvement efforts and to make suggestions for the
most effective use of faculty resources within the Department.
The English Department is encouraged to continue and expand its
interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts with other departments,
for example, Rhetoric and Communication and Comparative Literature.
The English faculty, along with other language and literature fac-
ulties, should support the Comparative Literature program by en-
couraging their best scholar/teachers to participate in Compara-—
tive Literature courses.
It is suggested that resources be granted to English for normal
growth and need, but most of the potential for growth and improve-
ment already exists within the resources now available to the
Department.
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH
External evaluations of the French Department's graduate pro-
grams within the past year and a half characterize the doctoral
program as "professionally sound" and managed by a faculty that is
“entirely adequate for a doctoral program." The Select Committee
agrees that the present program, particularly after the curricular
improvements which have recently been suggested by the Department
are implemented, is adequate, but only provided that replacements
for senior vacancies are filled with first-rate scholars. Faculty
performance in research, while improving, is seen as an area with
considerable improvement potential.
French, like many other Humanities Departments, has experienced
sharp declines in enrollment. This pattern seems likely to continue
if the Department's focus remains on language per se and present
faculty quality and productivity is not improved. The Select
Committee feels that broadening and improvement are vital to make
the Department more attractive to students and to stem the flow
away from French. As has been suggested for other Humanities
departments, French can play an important role in strengthening
interdisciplinary programs in the Division. Future appointments of
younger scholars in French should be given only to persons with a
demonstrated commitment to scholarly research.
The Department's efforts to broaden its offerings into area
and cultural studies are encouraged; a clearer focus on a specialty
area would also be highly desirable.
Recommendations: Continuance of the program is recommended with a
small decrease in the faculty resources. The Department has adequate
resources and turnover potential to make significant progress through
the redeployment and use of existing lines. It is vital that senior
positions be retained by the Department when they become available; these shoulc
be used to attract individuals with clear records of outstanding
scholarship. No reduction in assistantships is suggested.
DEPARTMENT OF GERMANIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE
The Department of Germanic Languages and Literature is one of
the finest Departments at SUNY-Albany. Although the first Ph.D.
degree will be awarded only this year, the Department has already
received very favorable external reviews. At least three-quarters
of the faculty are considered eminently well qualified to supervise
work at the Ph.D. level. Three faculty members have international
visibility and at least three others are moving rapidly toward that
position. Faculty coverage is considered good in view of the rela-
tively small size of the Department (eleven full-time faculty).
There is particular strength in modern German literature, editorial
craftsmanship, the Baroque period and in sociolinguistics of the
older period. The Department has had good success in securing
external funding.
The Ph.D. program rates very favorably in comparison to other
SUNY units and holds up well when compared to older programs in the
prestigious private colleges in the northeast. The external evalu-
ators, while calling the program too young to have been included
in the national rankings of the 1960's felt "that it is moving
toward the national group of strong programs."
In discussing the program in Comparative Literature, the Select
Committee expressed the view that Comparative Literature deserved
the support of the language and literature departments. German
seems to work very closely with Comparative Literature and other
departments and supplies an important quality input to the Compara-
tive Literature program. While applauding and encouraging this
relationship, the Select Committee would simultaneously call for
the maintenance of excellence in the individual language depart-
ments. Unless strong language programs can be maintained, quality
in Comparative Literature will never be able to move beyond the
restrictive confines of the relatively small Comparative Literature
faculty.
Recommendations: The programs of the Department of Germanic Languages
and Literature are strongly endorsed and additional resources in the
form of graduate assistantships are recommended. The German faculty
is encouraged to play an increasingly visible role in the Compara-
tive Literature program and to continue the broadening of the Depart-
ment's offerings to attract additional enrollments. In the future,
if the Department of German is able to continue its growth and dev-
elopment at increasing quality levels, additional resources should
be invested in the Department to preserve the enviable reputation
it has developed.
DEPARTMENT OF HISPANIC AND ITALIAN STUDIES: ITALIAN
The B.A. and M.A. programs in Italian are expensive, with a per
credit cost of $70. Despite the low enrollment, (i.e., only two FTE
graduate students), there is significant faculty strength in Italian
which the Select Committee does not treat lightly. The Italian
faculty has a good relationship with the local Italian community
and receive modest financial support from the new Italian Community
Center near the campus. The Italian M.A. program is currently being
revised. A problem in the past has involved a residency requirement
at SUNY-Binghamton or at a foreign university, but it seems likely
that the new program will remove this obstacle.
Recommendation: The Select Committee recommends conditional
continuation of the Italian M.A. program, subject to review by the
Graduate Academic Council next year and to the ability to attract
larger numbers of students. More aggressive student recruiting
efforts should be undertaken to increase graduate enrollments.
Further efforts to increase enrollments should be undertaken by
offering courses in cooperation with other departments such as
Comparative Literature, and through courses in cultural and area
studies, perhaps cross-listed with History.
The present allocation of faculty within the Hispanic and
Italian Studies Department should be carefully reviewed and the
number of faculty positions allocated to Italian should be reduced
until increased enrollments can be obtained to justify their
reallocation.
DEPARTMENT OF HISPANIC AND ITALIAN STUDIES: SPANISH
Graduate programs in Spanish offered by the Department of
Hispanic and Italian Studies rate among the best in the State,
with one external reviewer referring to the Albany Ph.D. program
in Spanish as the "best in the SUNY system." The principal needs
of the program seem to be more time to develop a wider reputation
and some attention to internal program management, particularly
interaction with other Humanities Departments. A new chairperson
is currently being sought for the Department and a visiting appoint-
ment next year will bring an outstanding scholar to the campus.
These developments augur well for the continued development and
improvement of this Department.
The Spanish program is a central one to the Division of
Humanities. The Department provides service courses to several
other programs outside the Division such as Latin American Studies
and Bilingual Education. While undergraduate enrollments continue
to grow, the graduate enrollments have declined; only one Ph.D.
and four M.A. degrees were awarded last year. This Department, like
others in the Division, must take appropriate steps to increase the
visibility and attractiveness of its programs to high caliber students.
The cost per completed credit of programs in Spanish is $50,
confortably close to the campus average. With about 17 faculty and
25 graduate students, the graduate program has potential for growth.
Recommendation:
Continuance of the program is recommended with normal resource
allocation.
JOURNALISM PROGRAM
Journalism is an undergraduate second field directed by a member
of the Department of English. Students who select this second field
enroll in journalism and recommended cognate courses in several depart-
ments, and internships are arranged with newspapers and television
stations in the area.
While student interest in the program is growing, there are limited
opportunities for internships, and demand for persons with backgrounds
in journalism currently is exceeded by the supply, according to the U.S.
Labor Department. Nevertheless, the curriculum is attractive to students
and gives them skills in analysis, in writing, and in news media generally.
The faculty, which also includes several part-time lecturers with
experience in newspaper work and freelance journalism, appears to be
of satisfactory quality for an undergraduate second field.
Recommendation:
Continuance of the program is recommended with normal resource
allocation.
JUDAIC STUDIES
The new Department of Judaic Studies has yet to develop its full
potential. It is felt that under the leadership of the new chairman
who was recently appointed, the Department can make significant
progress. The Select Committee urges the Judaic Studies Department
to develop its program more broadly by cooperating with cognate
departments and by designing courses with campus-wide appeal. The
present faculty is not felt to be adequate to offer graduate work
and should instead devote its efforts to consolidating the under-
graduate program and attracting more students.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
LINGUISTICS PROGRAM
The program in Linguistics provides a useful interdisciplinary
focus for scholars from several departments and an interesting and
worthwhile undergraduate concentration for a small group of students.
A selection of graduate courses, some of which are regularly taken
by students in Anthropology and TESLA#ilingual Education, is also
offered. The Linguistics program is considered to be well worth the
limited resources currently devoted to it.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC
The Music Department's B.A. program, with separate tracks for
generalists and performers, is well conceived and well managed.
Efforts to broaden the range of the Music faculty have resulted in
good coverage of most of the major instruments of the orchestra.
The Music Department is viewed as an important cultural resource to
the University and the community, and as such the Select Committee
feels that an active, high quality Music program must be maintained.
A program with complete orchestral coverage in addition to complete
programs in musicology and other topics is a luxury that this campus
cannot now afford. However, the present faculty is certainly
capable of developing an exciting program of high quality if their
focus is sharpened to include less than a complete repertoire. The
Department's efforts to attract outstanding faculty from a wide
variety of sources, including part-time people, is commendable.
The development of an M.A. or M.F.A. program in Music does not
seem to be appropriate at this time. It is unlikely that a graduate
program could be adequately supported given the existence of other
strong programs in the SUNY system and the substantial State support
now given to programs in private universities.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation. However, the Select Committee also recommends
that an external review of the Music B.A. program be undertaken next
year to assist the faculty in identifying a sharper program focus. It
is hoped this will increase the visibility and attractiveness of
the program and should help the Department to attract more students
with superior talent.
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
The Philosophy Department faculty exhibits significant strengths
in a few people, but overall the faculty quality is mixed. The
Department has a good range of coverage with particular strength in
the area of epistemology. Leadership and faculty morale are good.
No recent external review of the Ph.D. program is available; however
the Philosophy program will be reviewed next year by the Graduate
Academic Council. Recent enrollment declines at both the graduate
and undergraduate levels have reduced the margin between Philosophy
and several other departments which have usually had higher costs.
The pinch of the job market seems to be particularly severe in
Philosophy, so it would not be wise to expect substantial increases
in graduate enrollment. Even in the face of a very poor market for
Ph.D's., the Select Committee feels that a strong faculty in
Philosophy is essential to this University Center. The Philosophy
faculty is encouraged to continue the review of their course offer-
ings with an eye to the development of service courses that will
attract students from other departments, particularly graduate stu-
dents from language departments and the social sciences, as well as
the physical sciences and professional schools.
Continued development of the special area of epistemology is
encouraged. It seems unlikely that the Department will be able to
cover all of the special interest areas within Philosophy on a
quality basis. Trying to obtain more visibility in a special area
will create increased opportunities for scholarly development and
will help to attract higher quality students. It is hoped that these
efforts will permit this important Department to maintain justifica-
tion for their present level of resource support.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation. However,if the enrollment declines experienc—
ed in the past few years continue, some reduction of resources
would be indicated.
DEPARTMENT OF RHETORIC AND COMMUNICATION
The B.A. program offered by the Rhetoric and Communication
faculty is strong and inexpensive. The faculty was favorably
rated by an external review in 1973 and exhibits a cohesive spirit
and good productivity. The Department has reflected good leader-
ship during its development. The M.A. program is new, but seems
to be coming along well. Enrollments are expected to grow rapidly
because of a generally favorable market for communications special-
ists.
When measured against the highest standards of traditional
scholarship, the Rhetoric and Communication faculty shows some
deficiencies, but the emerging orientation of the faculty towards
applied concerns and communications media will, it is hoped, lead
to appropriate scholarly work in these areas. No additional faculty
resources are suggested for Rhetoric and Communication, but the
faculty is encouraged to seek external funds to strengthen and
expand the M.A. program.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with
normal resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE: RUSSIAN PROGRAM
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, specifi-
cally the M.A. program in Russian, deserves praise. The faculty,
while relatively young, is characterized by external reviewers as
offering "high-calibre teaching across the board." More than half
of the faculty are nationally visible and two members have interna-
tional reputations. Overall faculty productivity is high. Leader-
ship, faculty and student morale are excellent.
The Russian program occupies a good position in the region.
No other SUNY unit has a graduate program in Russian. Among public
institutions, only the University of Massachusetts competes with SUNY-
Albany in the northeastern area. External evaluators point to a
clear need for the program to serve a variety of students preparing
for service in government and in private enterprise, as well as
those embarking on academic careers.
The Slavic faculty have clearly demonstrated an ability to
develop and manage an effective M.A. program which has attracted
good students. They have shown good research and publication pro-
ductivity and have maintained high standards of teaching excellence.
The Slavic Department should be able to return enrollment increases
for modest increments in support resources. The Department's
efforts to secure external funding are encouraged; where possible
these efforts should be supported with administrative, clerical
and secretarial assistance.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE
The Theatre Department is moving well, under the leadership of
a new chairman, towards the clarification of its goals and program
objectives. The organizing concept of theatre as a performing art
seems well suited to a Department with excellent facilities, good
students and a faculty with some very talented and productive people.
The Committee notes that a review of the Theatre M.A. program
by the Graduate Academic Council is planned for next year. The
focus and direction of the program should be reviewed at that time.
The Theatre Department is not only a teaching Department, but
also an important cultural resource for the University and the
community. The quality and range of student and faculty work is
immediately obvious to the entire community and should be subject
to continued attention and improvement.
There seems to be room for modest expansion of graduate enrol-
iments in the Theatre program without substantial new resources.
If superior student quality can be maintained, it is hoped that
modest increments of graduate assistantships can be granted to
Theatre from within the Humanities Division.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
WOMEN'S STUDIES
The undergraduate interdisciplinary second field in Women's
Studies offered by the Division of Humanities is viewed as a sound,
useful program. The basic approach taken to form Women's Studies
-- the appointment of an Advisory Committee and the borrowing of
qualified faculty from other fields -- seems to the Select Committee
to be a good one. Indeed, in retrospect, it might have been
advisable to use this model rather than the separate department
and faculty model used for several other ethnic and special studies.
It is hoped that Women's Studies will remain an interdisciplinary
area rather than become a separate department.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with
normal resource allocation.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DIVISION OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Background and Structure
The Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences has one hundred and
twenty-three full-time faculty members serving programs in ten different
fields. The number of faculty within departments in this Division ranges
from one in Latin-American Studies and three in Puerto Rican Studies to
twenty-five in Psychology and twenty-six in History.
Five departments offer the Ph.D. degree: Anthropology, Economics
(which offers the Ph.D. in Political Economy in the Graduate School of
Public Affairs as well as in Economics), History, Psychology, and
Sociology. Full-time equivalent graduate enrollments in these five
departments range from twenty-five in Sociology to eighty-two in Economics.
Master's degrees are offered in the fields mentioned above and in
African & Afro-American Studies, Geography, Latin-American Studies and
Social Studies; at this level, graduate headcount enrollments range from
six in Latin-American Studies to twenty-three in Social Studies.
Baccalaureate degrees are given by all of the above departments, as well
as in American Studies and in two relatively small interdisciplinary
programs, Environmental Studies and Puerto Rican Studies.
The Department of Psychology has been receiving by far the largest
number of graduate applications. These applications amount, as a rule,
to some eighty percent of the Division's doctoral applications and sixty
percent of the Division's total graduate applications. The Department's
clinical psychology program alone attracts about three hundred applications
per year. Of the fifty-six doctoral degrees so far conferred by the
Division, the Psychology Department has granted thirty-two. While the
Department was the first in the Division to offer a Ph.D., the heavy
clinical emphasis may also be a contributive factor in this regard.
Psychology and Economics together have conferred eighty-five percent
of the total number of Ph.D.'s in the Division. Placement of their
graduates has been quite satisfactory and commensurate with the external
demand of these programs.
Internal service provided by these two departments, and by the
Department of History, has also revealed the central importance of these
disciplines in the Division. The number of students from other departments,
divisions, or schools enrolled in Economics, History or Psychology is far
larger than enrollments in other departments of the Division. These three
departments are clearly responding to a strong internal as well as external
demand.
The lowest numbers of applications received in the Division are in
African and Afro-American Studies, Geography, Latin-American Studies,
Social Studies, and Sociology. In addition, these departments and
programs. are rated from low to moderate on internal service.
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences - Background and Structure - Page 2
The Select Committee believes that the creation of a number of
rather small departments and programs in the Division is largely
responsible for one of its major weaknesses. Fragmenting the Division
into numerous small sub-groups drains resources and enrollments from
the basic disciplines of Anthropology, Economics, History, Psychology
and Sociology. The Select Committee believes that wherever possible,
interdisciplinary programs should stem from the parent discipline.
It would be far less costly and redundant to adopt the model of the
School Psychology program, which shares faculty, enrollments, and
resources of the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and
Sciences, and those of the Educational Psychology Department in the
School of Education. Other programs that employ this model include those
in Asian Studies, Chinese Studies, Linguistics, and Women's Studies.
Most graduate programs in this Division, with one notable exception,
do not compare favorably with those at other institutions of the same
character and order of magnitude as SUNY-Albany. In part this may be
attributed to the fact that overall, the Division is the most poorly
supported on the Albany campus, with an instructional cost of only
$36 per completed credit. The contrast with the Division of Humanities
at $46 per completed credit and the Division of Science and Mathematics
at $59 per completed credit is striking. The Division has the highest
student/faculty ratio (20.4) in Arts and Sciences, yet has the lowest
contact hours (10.2).
The Select Committee believes that several departments in the
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences labor under the handicap
of heavy enrollments which, if unchecked, may endanger the quality of
graduate programs in those fields. Without suggesting that all depart-
ments and Divisions should be moved toward the "campus average," the
Committee has endorsed the addition of resources to three departments
in the Division and suggested that two others receive them, once
certain conditions are corrected. In a couple of departments the average
weekly contact hours for faculty is low, and raising this average may
increase program effectiveness. The remarks in Chapter IV concerning
faculty workload are especially pertinent to this Division. Classroom
and committee assignments should be adjusted so that producing scholars,
be they senior or junior faculty, are given the time for research;
those less competent or willing to produce should be given heavier
assignments in other areas.
The maintenance of high quality graduate and undergraduate programs
in this Division should receive a high priority. Such programs are
important because of heavy undergraduate demand, because of their
pivotal role in understanding and solving social problems, and because
of their support for the programs in the professional schools. A strong
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences is crucial to the future of
this campus as a University Center.
DEPARTMENT OF AFRICAN AND AFRO-AMERICAN STUDIES
The Department of African and Afro-American Studies consists
of eight full-time faculty and one part-time staff member, few of
whom have achieved scholastic distinction. Currently, there are
fifteen students enrolled in the master's program, and nine under-
graduate majors. Thirteen master's degrees have been awarded in
the past three years; five more are expected to complete the
degree in the near future. The students admitted to the master's
program are, however, of poor quality; in general, their under-
graduate records fall below a B average. Based upon cost per credit
($65), the program is the most expensive in the Division; it enjoys
the second lowest student/faculty ratio (12.2).
The declared objective of the master's program is "to create
researchers and teachers trained to apply research methodology and
theory to the systematic study of the life experiences of Black
people, the structure of cultural systems, and the confrontation
between systems and the population they purportedly serve."
Students in the master's program may concentrate in one or more of
the following departmental sub-areas: (1) African History, Civi-
lization, Politics and Economics; (2) Urban Economics and
Development; (3) International Relations; (4) Urban Afro-American
Literature; (5) Urban Planning; (6) Research Methods and Theory;
(7) Afro-American History and Culture; and (8) Afro-American Insti-
tutions. Twenty-five courses covering these topics are offered.
The Committee notes with concern that the areas of research
specialization equal the number of full-time faculty. Considering
the extensive and diverse course offerings, and the faculty's
relative lack of academic distinction, there would seem to be some
reason to doubt the Department's capacity to offer an academically
adequate master's program.
Recommendations:
Given these factors, and the expense of this program, the
Select Committee must recommend some reduction in the number of
faculty. Questions must also be raised about continuing the
master's program, but a final decision in this regard should await
the forthcoming external consultant's report and Graduate Academic
Council evaluation. The quality of the faculty, above all, must be
considerably improved, if the program is to retain academic credi-
bility. The Committee cannot support the Department's intention to
conduct a feasibility study to determine the need to establish a
Ph.D. program. Given its general lack of scholarly achievement,
the Department does not appear to be equipped to offer such a program
at this time.
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
The majority of the fourteen faculty members in the Department
of Anthropology are productive scholars with some degree of national
visibility; some are highly regarded at the international level.
Graduate students are of high quality and are engaged in significant
research, The Department has emphasized quality rather than quantity
in graduate student enrollment: Thirty-eight students are presently
enrolled in the graduate program, about half of whom are supported
by university assistantships and fellowships. Since the doctoral
program began in 1971-72, one Ph.D. has been granted and holds a
teaching position.
The Department is generally regarded as among the six best in
the nation in Meso-American Studies, and as having a great potential
for developing a unique, high-quality program in Northeastern Studies.
The Department is agreed that the pursuit of academic excellence in
research and teaching must be its primary concern. Its leadership
is strong and effective.
Recommendations:
In view of the present excellence of the Anthropology Ph.D.
Program, its clear promise of even higher academic stature, and the
Departments' workload, the Select Committee strongly endorses the
recent decision to allocate an additional faculty line in the
Department. A high priority should be given to Anthropology in
present and future reviews for resource allocations and departmen-
tal library aquisitions.
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
The twenty-member faculty of the Department of Economics can-
not be described as impressive in terms of national visibility and
high-level scholarship. The academic quality of the senior faculty
is, by itself, scarcely adequate to support a Ph.D. program, but
the quality of the junior faculty (11 of whom were appointed in the
last three years) is fairly high. Departmental leadership is
excellent and morale is quite high. External evaluators have
observed that the quality of graduate students is perhaps somewhat
less adequate than might be expected of a high quality graduate
institution, but it should be noted that in this regard the Depart-
ment is not markedly different from other departments in the
Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Thirty-seven master's and thirty-two Ph.D. students are presently
enrolled in the graduate program, of whom twenty-five are supported
by university assistantships and fellowships, and seven by externally
funded fellowships. Sixteen Ph.D. degrees have been awarded since
the program began in 1969-70 and all of the recipients have been
appropriately placed. The Economics Ph.D. program has definite weak-
nesses, but it has also given signs of steady improvement.
Recommendations:
1. The Select Committee considers Economics to be a core dis-
cipline in the Division; its steady improvement at the doctoral level,
under strong leadership over the past few years, indicates a capacity
for growth and gradual upgrading. The Committee recognizes the need
for one or two top-level appointments to solidify the academic
stature of the Department. These new faculty lines should be filled
only if candidates of the highest scholastic calibre can be found.
It is considered that the doctoral program would be improved by
adding strength in the area of public finance, and perhaps also in
quantitative methods and theory, where a measure of departmental
strength already exists. The Department ought to seek outside fund-
ing much more aggressively than is presently the case.
2. A major readjustment of faculty workload also appears to be
indicated. Given a student/faculty ratio of 22.2, it appears that
the Department is understaffed, but in terms of faculty/student con-
tact hours (8.10), the Department in fact, has one of the lowest
workloads in the Division. To allow the promising junior faculty
more time for research and for graduate advisement, it is recommended
that the workload of the less productive faculty be increased by an
amount that enables the research-oriented faculty to teach no more
than six hours per week. (See also Political Economy.)
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
The Environmental Studies program is designed as a problem-
focused interdisciplinary major, stressing the study of environmental
problems from all necessary standpoints, and emphasizing that stu-
dents should have a second major in one of the basic disciplines.
The core faculty consists of two full-time members, who are assisted
by a non-teaching professional. The program draws heavily upon
courses in other disciplines; an impression remains that the program
may be too fragmented and incoherent. Students with such a broad and
fragmented background, even allowing for problem analysis, tend to
have a shallow appreciation of environmental problems.
Environmental problems are exceedingly complex; their solution
will, in the final analysis, depend upon a new kind of technology and
not in any important way on a broad training at the undergraduate
level. Environmental science is a legitimate graduate field that
draws in students with in-depth training in chemistry, geology, bio-
logy, engineering, law, economics, etc. But the Environmental Studies
program at SUNY-Albany appears as not much more than a token effort
to scratch the surface of a very broad area that really requires the
most careful analysis at relatively advanced levels.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that the Environmental Studies program be
converted to an interdisciplinary second field and that its resources
be appropriately reduced. (See also Proposed Program in Environmental
and Resource Science and Technology).
PROPOSED PROGRAM IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
There is a great and growing national need for serious and long-
lasting basic studies in environmental problem-solving, and in
resource and energy research and management. There are virtually no
existing programs in the country that are directed specifically to a
cohesive research and teaching effort in these areas.
Such a department, institute, or research center, should be
primarily a graduate enterprise, staffed by top-calibre faculty and
accepting only the very best students for graduate study. SUNY-
Albany has a great opportunity to pioneer nationally in this area.
A practical start would be the fusion of geography, environmental
studies, and the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, and the hiring
of two or three outstanding scholars to start the program, with
appointments, as they become available, to be made according to the
long term goals of the institute.
The thrust of such an institute or center might be directed
towards a variety of integrated areas such as the methodology of
environmental impact statements (scientific, legal and economic),
urban planning, the technology of natural resources (timber, oil, gas,
coal, minerals) energy research (wind and solar in particular), cli-
mate research, and energy and resource policy-making. The potential
external fundability of such a program is enormous. As one example,
Energy Research and Development Administration has proposed a budget
that, if approved, will include about 1.1 billion dollars for resource
and energy research in the 1976 fiscal year.
There are a number of faculty at SUNY-Albany in the basic dis-
ciplines whose interests in resource and energy research are consi-
derable; a new core institute would draw them together. There is an
opportunity for SUNY-Albany to make a significant contribution to
these kinds of national needs by the development of a new and vital
kind of program, a program that, as the years pass, becomes ever more
urgent and pressing for the nation. The Committee recommends that a
small ad hoc committee be formed, without delay, to make a feasibi-
lity study regarding the development of such a program.
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
This report is prepared without the benefit of an external evalua-
tion of the Department of Geography. There are seven faculty members,
none of whom appear to be scholars with national reputations or visi-
bility. Graduate student quality is fairly good. Sixteen students
are currently enrolled in the master's program, six of whom are sup-
ported by university assistantships and fellowships. Six master's
degrees have been awarded in the past three years; two of these
entered Ph.D. programs and two others are employed in the field.
The demand for graduates with master's degrees in Geography does
not appear to be large. In this context, it should be noted that SUNY
has a Ph.D. program in operation at Buffalo. There is a reasonable
demand for Geography at the undergraduate level and the Department
enjoys one of the lower student/faculty ratios (16.1) in the Division.
Recommendations:
The Select Committee believes that, given the possible marginal
status of Geography as an academic discipline, the master's program
may not be strong enough to warrant its continuance, but a definite
decision in this regard must await the forthcoming external report
and Graduate Academic Council evaluation. Meanwhile, the Committee
urges the Department to place special stress on developing an under-
graduate program of high quality. (See Proposed Program in Environmental
and Resource Science and Technology.)
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
Only one of the twenty-six faculty members of the Department of
History enjoys a truly national reputation, although more than a few
of the faculty are engaged in significant research. There are a num-
ber of promising junior faculty but a considerable number of the
senior faculty are not producing scholars.
The Department enjoys a fairly low student/faculty ratio (16.4),
and has the lowest number of faculty/student contact hours in the
Division (7.5). Sixty-one students are enrolled in the graduate pro-
gram (forty-three master's and seventeen Ph.D. students), of whom
fourteen are supported by university assistantships and fellowships.
The doctoral candidates are considered to be of good quality. High
admission standards restrict the number of doctoral students who are
admitted into the program. Completed dissertations alsoreflect high
professional standards. Placement records for Ph.D. graduates are
not especially impressive, primarily reflecting the difficult con-
ditions currently prevailing in the job market. Recognizing this
situation, the Department has wisely chosen to limit enrollments
and maintain student quality.
The Select Committee has agreed that History plays an extremely
important role within the Division of Social Sciences and in the
whole University; it has a high degree of academic centrality. It
is clearly a core discipline and there is a real and significant
need for a viable graduate program in History at masters and doctoral
levels. However, if the Department of History is to continue to offer
a Ph.D. degree, substantial improvements must be made in the quality
of faculty in the Department.
Recommendations:
The Select Committee recommends the following courses of action:
1. A readjustment of teaching loads should ensure that producing
scholars are enabled to undertake research and complete sig-
nificant publications; faculty members not involved in research
should be primarily assigned to teaching duties at the under-
graduate level. A graduate faculty should be clearly and explic-
itly identified.
2. The American Studies program should be drawn back into the Depart-
ment of History (see also, American Studies) to allow the dev-
elopment of a stronger doctoral program in American History and
Civilization, the area in which the Department is especially
strong. It is recommended that the Department further develop
its strength in this area by hiring first-rate scholars in this
speciality (two junior lines are available from the American
Studies program, and two senior replacements are due within
three years). In particular, the appointment presently pending
in American Studies should be made by the Department of History.
The Department should be scheduled for review by the Graduate
Academic Council within two years, particularly to assess the
extent and quality of faculty research and publication.
AMERICAN STUDIES
The American Studies bachelor's program is organized and directed
by a faculty member in the Department of History with the aid of two
full-time junior faculty members; it draws on secretarial assistance
from the Department of History. American Studies has not fulfilled a
truly interdisciplinary function, as almost all of its offerings are
inHistory and the program draws chiefly on the faculty resources of
that department, with the exception of one member from the Department
of English. The Committee regards the program as duplicative, in
some degree, in that its resource allocation detracts from the Depart-
ment of History's effort to develop a viable program in American His-
tory and Civilization.
Recommendation:
The Committee recommends that the American Studies program be
formally drawn back into the Department of History, and that hiring,
tenure, and promotion decisions on the two faculty lines be the
responsibility of History , as a critical aid in that department's
effort to upgrade its doctoral program. (See also History.)
SOCIAL STUDIES
The Social Studies program, administered by a member of the
Department of History, with the aid of secretarial resources from
that Department, and a teaching assistant, offers a bachelor's and
a master's degree. The master's degree program is designed to
help students who possess temporary certification for teaching in
New York State secondary schools meet requirements for permanent
certification. The program requires courses in both education
and a social and behavioral science option, and draws on course of-
ferings in these areas. Twenty-four master's degrees have been
awarded in the last three years and twenty-three students are pre-
sently enrolled in the program. The program effectively performs a
needed service function.
Recommendations:
The program should be continued at its present level of
resources. (See also History.)
LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
This program offers an interdisciplinary master's degree by
drawing heavily upon faculty resources from Anthropology, Geography,
Hispanic Studies, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Puerto
Rican Studies and Sociology. Five master's degrees have so far been
awarded. Currently, six students are enrolled in the program, two
of whom are supported by university assistantships. This program is
of satisfactory quality and hence should be retained.
Recommendations:
The program should be continued at its present level of resources.
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
Very few of the twenty faculty members in the Department of
Psychology enjoy national visibility and only some of the senior
faculty are sufficiently qualified to support a high level doctoral
program. However, several of the junior faculty are distinctly
promising in this regard. Current faculty research appears, on
the whole, to be only average. External reviewers consider that
the Department is "isolated"; they note substantial internal fac-
tionalism, poor morale, and deficient leadership. Further, they
observe that the Department is marked by "a poor intellectual
atmosphere." The Committee notes that recent efforts to deal with
this situation have not eliminated the problem.
Fifty-four students are currently enrolled in the graduate
programs, almost half of whom are supported by university assistant-
ships and fellowships. Thirty-two Ph.D. degrees have been awarded
since the program began in 1963-64. Graduate student quality is
uneven. Admissions criteria are difficult to understand; some
students with weak academic records have been admitted, while stu-
dents with stronger academic credentials have been turned away. The
Department has not apparently used its considerable resources to
develop a coherent doctoral program of high quality. Instead, the
Department, particularly at the graduate level, has drifted toward
a program of marginal quality.
The Committee regards Psychology as an important and central
discipline within the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, as
other disciplines have a fundamental need for interaction with an
energetic Department of Psychology. This campus needs a strong Ph.D.
program in Psychology. The Committee wishes that it could recommend
that a number of new faculty lines be allotted to the Department to
upgrade its quality. However, there are serious doubts as to whether
the Department, in its present state, would use such new lines effec—
tively.
Recommendations:
1. The Select Committee does not recommend an increased allocation
of resources. It recommends that the Department, under the new
chairman now being sought, be given three years to upgrade the
quality of its faculty, graduate students, and program as rapidly
as possible. The Department's program should be reassessed in
three years. If that reassessment is positive, additional lines
ought to be allocated to the Department. Meanwhile, the number
of assistantships and fellowships awarded to the Department
should be carefully re-examined.
2. Five new faculty will shortly join the Department (a chairman plus
four assistant professors) by replacements and upgrading of
Department of Psychology -- page 2.
lecturer positions. Strict adherence to the very highest academic
standards should characterize the procedures employed to fill these
positions. Further, the new chairman will have to exercise strong
leadership to improve departmental morale and efficiency. Fewer
graduate students should be admitted and those who are admitted
must possess the highest academic credentials.
3. Non-productive faculty should be assigned primarily to
undergraduate teaching, thus freeing the more productive members of
the Department to conduct research and to advise and direct the
graduate students.
4. The Department should place special emphasis on those areas
in which it is relatively well qualified (e.g., social and clinical
psychology).
5. It is suggested that liaison and cooperation with such pro-
gram as Educational Psychology be further developed to decrease
departmental insularity and to provide students with a broader pool
of advanced courses and faculty talent, especially in statistics
and measurement. If the reassessment at the end of a three-year
period does not show substantial improvement in the areas indicated,
suspension of the doctoral program should be taken under advisement.
PUERTO RICAN STUDIES
The Puerto Rican Studies Department consists of three full-time
and three part-time faculty members, four of whom do not possess a
doctoral degree and have little scholastic distinction. One full-
time member is a specialist in bilingual education with an Ed.D.
from Harvard and a good publication record in that speciality. The
total FTE student enrollment in 1974-75 was 34.6. Six students were
graduated with interdisciplinary majors in Puerto Rican Studies in
1974. Four of the graduates have enrolled in graduate programs,
three in library science and one in bilingual education. Two are
teaching in New York City. Eleven more students are expected to
graduate in May 1975. The general student quality appears to be
fairly good and consistent with that of the campus average. However,
the student/faculty ratio (9.9) is the lowest in the Division, the
average weekly contact hours (8.5) are among the lowest, and the cost
per credit ($57) is the second highest in the Division.
The declared goals of the program are "to revitalize cultural
pluralism, as opposed to the melting pot ideology, and to promote
better understanding of the Puerto Ricans and other minority groups
in the United States, through development of academic courses, the
gathering of pertinent materials and the promotion of needed scholarly
research. Puerto Rican Studies, as well as other ethnic studies
programs, are concerned with rediscovering, revitalizing, and
strengthening of the ethnic identity of the most discriminated group
in American Society so they can then go forward to make a positive
contribution to society."
The course offerings in Puerto Rican Studies comprise four
literature courses, two art courses, a history course, and a
variety of courses dealing with different aspects of Puerto Rican
culture, sociology and politics, with respect to both Puerto Rico
and Puerto Ricans in America.
Recommendations:
The Committee believes that because of the high cost per credit,
the restricted nature of the course offerings, and the small size
and marginal quality of the faculty, the program does not provide
a sufficiently substantial basis for an undergraduate major in a
university setting. Resources are badly needed in several disciplines
which are critical to the continuance of SUNY-Albany as a quality
University Center. Recognizing the several roles this program plays
on the campus, the Select Committee does not recommend its abolition
but it does recommend that resources presently allocated to Puerto
Rican Studies as a separate discipline be reduced, and that the
major in Puerto Rican Studies be converted to a second field.
SOCIOLOGY
The Department of Sociology consists of seventeen faculty members,
four of whom do not hold the Ph.D. degree. The faculty is not, with
few exceptions, described as scholastically distinguished; the Depart-
ment is top-heavy with senior staff who are not producing scholars.
Two junior faculty members have considerable promise, but the quality
of faculty generally, at the present time, does not appear to justify
the offering of a doctoral program.
Twenty-three students (16 master's and 7 Ph.D.) are presently
enrolled in the graduate program, about sixteen of whom are supported by
university assistantships and fellowships. No Ph.D.'s have been awarded
since the program began in 1970-71. The Committee notes that some of
the graduate students have published to some extent; more so, in fact,
than some of the faculty. Further, the Department appears to be heavily
factionalized; internal dissension contributes to low morale. On several
counts, the wisdom of offering a Ph.D. in Sociology at this time would
seem to be seriously in question.
Recommendations:
Instant salvaging of the doctoral program could be managed, ap-
parently, only by a rapid infusion of perhaps five outstanding senior
faculty appointments. The Committee does not recommend such a course
of action at this time because it would involve a drain of resources
from other more viable programs. There is also doubt of the Depart-
ment's capacity at present to expend such resources wisely, even if
they were made available.
1. The deficiency of scholarship, together with the dissension in
the Department, suggest that suspension of the Ph.D. program
would be appropriate and the Select Committee so recommends.
2. The Department should concentrate its efforts on the training
of students in the undergraduate and master's programs, and on
service to other related disciplines until such time as it can
demonstrate competence to offer a doctoral program. The
Committee earnestly hopes that this time may not be far off,
since a strong doctoral program in Sociology is, obviously,
most desirable in a University Center.
3. Critical to the future of the Department is effective leadership
by a new chairman (now being sought), as well as maturation and
growing productivity of the younger faculty. With the suspension
of the doctoral program, it is also recommended that a hard look
be taken at the number of assistantships/fellowships awarded to
the Department. The Department should build and consolidate by
reassessing teaching loads in the light of faculty research pro-
ductivity, and by adhering to the most rigorous academic standards
in hiring, promotion, and tenure decisions.
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DIVISION OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
Division of Science & Mathematics
Background and Structure
The Division of Science and Mathematics offers bachelor's, mas-
ter's and doctoral degrees in seven disciplines: Astronomy and Space
Science, Atmospheric Science, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geological Sciences,
Mathematics and Physics. The Department of Computer Science offers
only the master's degree. Four research centers are associated with
various departments in the Division. They include the Atmospheric
Sciences Research Center, the Neuro~Biology Research Center, the
Center for Nuclear and Radiation Studies, and the Space Astronomy
Laboratory.
There are one hundred and seventy-four full-time faculty members
teaching in the Division with an average student/faculty ratio of 13.
However, it is important to note that there is a wide range of faculty
size, number of graduate and undergraduate enrollments, number of de-
grees awarded, student/faculty ratios, and instructional costs for
individual departments within the Division.
The Departments of Mathematics and Biology have the largest
number of faculty members: 42 in Mathematics and 38 in Biology.
Those departments having the fewest faculty are Astronomy (7), Com-
puter Science (8), and Geology (9).
Graduate enrollments in the Division have remained essentially
level over the past five years with only minor fluctuations. There
are 55 FTE graduate students in Biology, 41 in Computer Science, 35
in Physics, and 34 in Chemistry. Undergraduate majors have increased
dramatically, however, from 1568 in 1970 to 2151 in 1974. The largest
number of undergraduate enrollments are in Mathematics, Biology, and
Chemistry. These contrast with Departments that have much smaller
FTE graduate and undergraduate enrollments such as Geology and Astronomy.
The Department of Chemistry has granted 39 Ph.D. degrees, the
largest number in the College of Arts and Sciences. Twenty-five Ph.D.'s
have been awarded by the Department of Physics. The Astronomy doctoral
program began in 1968 and has granted one degree; Geology has yet to
confer the Ph.D., but it should be noted that the program did not begin
until 1971.
Student/faculty ratios also vary greatly within the Division. As-
tronomy, Atmospheric Science, and Geology have the smallest ratios.
Computer Science, which offers neither the B.A. nor the Ph.D., clearly
has the highest ratio. The small faculty and the comparatively large }
enrollments in both graduate and undergraduate courses can be accounted
for by the great degree of internal service which this Department pro-
vides. Most departments in the Division, as well as many across the
campus, either require or strongly advise their students to take some
course work in Computer Science.
The instructional cost in the Division is the highest in the
College of Arts and Sciences -- $58.00 per completed credit. This
cost ranges from a high of $137.00 in Astronomy to a low of $23.00
in Computer Science.
The central disciplines of the natural sciences, mathematics,
physics, chemistry, and biology, offer perhaps the clearest illustra-
tion of mutual interdependence in a group of research fields. It is
difficult to imagine any of these sciences flourishing on a campus
in the absence of one or more of the others. Just as no first-rate
scholar in Germanics would likely choose to join or long remain at
an institution which lacked a doctoral program in French, it is even
more obvious that researchers of the first rank in physics, for
example, could not be easily induced to join or long remain at a
university lacking a doctoral program in chemistry. Current re-
search in all the scientific disciplines is seeing a coming together
of these once sharply distinguished fields into a common area of in-
creasingly mathematics-oriented knowledge and method. Researchers
in the various sciences are now sharing knowledge and techniques
in a way that was unknown as recently as a decade or two ago.
The Select Committee perceives three problems that transcend
departmental boundaries, and which the Division of Science and Mathe-
matics should address at an early date:
1) It is clear that throughout the Division, graduate student
fellowships and assistantships are not competitive in dollar amounts
with those at comparable institutions, and therefore it is difficult
to attract the highest quality students to Albany. Recent increases
for 1975-76 may have alleviated the problem, to some degree. The
American Council on Education studied the 1973-74 compensations of
graduate assistants at 644 institutions. (22) It is clear from
this study that Albany's stipends for next year will lag behind those
of two years ago in public universities. Albany is the least com-
petitive in Mathematics, for example, where two years ago the
stipends at public universities granting tuition waivers ranged
from $3,062 to $3,881 with a mean of $3,270. Albany's highest stipend
next year will be $3,200, plus tuition waiver.
2) A recurring criticism in the departmental reports and outside
evaluations is the problem of access to library materials, particu-
larly journals.
3) The important question of responsibility for the develop-
ment of a program in the key area of bio-chemistry remains an issue
calling for urgent study and decision.
DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCE
According to outside evaluators, the graduate program in Astronomy
and Space Science has not been developed to an acceptable level of qual-
ity and would require a massive addition of faculty lines to make it a
strong program. Specifically, according to the evaluators, few of
the seven faculty are engaged in significant research and the Department
lacks a national reputation. Any program with a very low student/faculty
ratio (6.6), low contact hours (7.5) and an extremely high cost per
credit completed ($137) must be of the highest quality to justify its
resources,
The evaluators are highly critical not only of the amount and
quality of research but also of the amount of outside grant support,
the quality of classroom teaching, the quality of graduate students
(only 12 are enrolled), and of the program's standards. Only one
student has completed doctoral work since the program began in 1968
and the progress of others is slow. This Department has had dif-
ficulty in maintaining strong and effective leadership and the
discipline is not considered by the Select Committee to be central
to the academic needs of the Division or the campus.
It is also important to note that the National Academy of Sciences,
citing a surplus of trained astronomers over available positions of
possibly four to one in the near future, has recently recommended a
sharp curtailment in production of new Ph.D.'s in astronomy. (24)
Recommendations:
1. It is recommended that the doctoral and master's programs
in Astronomy and Space Science be terminated.
2. Consideration should be given to absorbing the Astronomy
and Space Science undergraduate program into another
appropriate department.
3. The outside evaluators' recommendation that"the most gifted
teachers in the department . . . (should) construct an
exciting course in undergraduate astronomy for non-majors"
should be implemented.
4. Pending these moves the Department should have a low priority
in the allocation of resources.
DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
The Department of Atmospheric Science is a strong, diverse Depart-
ment with a sound faculty of 11 full-time and 9 part-time members. Most
faculty members are engaged in significant research supported by exter-
nal funds which also support about 15 graduate students. Completion
of Ph.D. degrees is at a satisfactory rate (4 per year during the past
3 years).
Enrollments in the Department must increase before the high cost
per credit ($104) and the student/faculty ratio (7.3) can be moved
closer to the average for the Division. Such enrollment growth, if
it occurs, should be at the undergraduate level. The evaluators felt
that a larger graduate program is not justified in terms of national
need, but that within the graduate program greater emphasis should be
placed upon the Ph.D.
The Select Committee, although aware that the Atmospheric Sciences
Research Center is a SUNY-wide institution, nevertheless also recog-
nizes that the ASRC's reputation very directly affects the Albany
campus. In view of the very high cost of operating the ASRC, staff
and research quality ought to be of the highest order. The Select
Committee urges that the ASRC, like the academic departments, would
benefit from an early review by outside evaluators.
While the quality of the 36 graduate students is good, many
having published and read papers at national meetings, evaluators
have stressed that in order to realize its potential of becoming one
of the nation's best programs, the Department must continue strong
efforts to raise student quality. The number of students supported
by university assistantships is very high (20) and should be care-
fully reviewed. Unless the overall level of student quality shows
a marked rise, the number of internal assistantships should be re-
duced. The senior faculty, furthermore, must persevere in their
expressed intention to take more responsibility for the introductory
courses in order that the excellent younger faculty group may have
time for their research.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
The Department of Biological Sciences has a research faculty of
high quality (38 members), and is awarding doctoral degrees in very
satisfactory numbers (6 per year during the past 3 years). Placement
of doctoral graduates is excellent.
With 66 graduate students (36 of them supported) the Department
has the largest graduate program in the Division, and has the capacity
for some additional growth. Graduate student quality has improved
steadily and now is among the highest in the College both for master's
and for doctoral students. External funding is very good. The stud-
ent/faculty ratio (14) and cost per credit ($51) is comfortably close
to the average for the University.
It is expected that the arrival of a new chairman, now being
actively sought, will improve internal cooperation and morale. The
Department should complete the reconsideration of its requirements
for the M.S. degree as recommended by the Graduate Academic Council
in June, 1973. While there are problems of space utilization and
equipment obsolescence, these problems are shared with equal urgency
by many other SUNY-Albany programs.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program with normal. resource alloca-
tion.
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
The Department of Chemistry has a large and active faculty of
25 members with good research strength at both the senior and junior
levels. Three professors are outstanding in research and have inter-
national reputations. Many others are engaged in important research,
as evidenced by numerous awards and other recognitions. The Depart-
ment's 41 graduate students include 35 who are supported. The cost
per credit ($51) and the student/faculty ratio (14.4) are near the
average for the Campus.
Evaluators found that the number of faculty qualified to direct
advanced research is more than sufficient for the doctoral program,
and in fact "large enough to support more doctoral students." Since
chemistry was one of two programs in the Division found by a recent
outside evaluation to have serious problems, and since the Select
Committee considers it to be a core program, the Committee gave this
Department particular attention.
External funding, while ample by comparison to other departments
in the Division, needs to be increased to compare favorably with
nationally ranked chemistry departments. The faculty is currently
being strengthened by the addition of a full professor of national
reputation and capable of generating the additional external funding
required. The criticism that the graduate student body should be
larger has stimulated recruiting efforts by the Department and addi-
tional assistantship:money has been assigned. Completion rate of
doctorates is good: eight in December, 1974, for example. The place-
ment record for graduates is excellent. Faculty are currently making
commendable efforts to contact and recruit the best prospective
graduate students and must continue to do so. The only expansion of
student numbers will and should occur at the Ph.D. level: more under-
graduate and master's students are not needed.
The Select Committee concludes that with the additional re-
sources made available by the University and the recent actions by
the dean and the Department, the criticisms in the evaluation have
been addressed by the Department, and the quality of the program is
being significantly improved.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
Computer Science is a program whose quality is important to many
other disciplines. However, the present Department is hampered by a
monumental overload illustrated by a student/faculty ratio of 33 and
average weekly contact hours of 13, both of which are among the highest
on this campus.
The Department now offers the M.S. degree (42 students enrolled),
but no undergraduate major so that 89% of the Department's credits are
generated by internal service to students in other departments. There
is an urgent need for a permanent chairman: the present chairman, who
is doing a superlative job, is now in the first year of a two-year
visiting appointment. There is an urgent need also for a thorough
reorganization of the undergraduate program to create a unified, inter-
disciplinary group of courses with a strong mathematics component.
The Committee understands that such an interdisciplinary program has
been developed.
Recommendation: Provided that a) the present chairman stays, or
another equally qualified chairman is found, and b) a thorough re-
structuring of the program is carried out, the Select Committee
recommends that the Department be authorized to offer the baccalaureate
degree in addition to the M.S. The addition of the baccalaureate
program might require two additional faculty lines. If, and only if,
the two mentioned provisos are complied with, the addition of these
lines should be a high priority.
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES
The Geology faculty is one of Albany's strongest. The Department
of nine enjoys an international reputation. The facilities are des-
cribed by an evaluator from Princeton as "the best I have ever seen",
and "probably among the half-dozen best equipped Departments in the
world", The program's general excellence is confirmed by substantial
outside support in the face of limited national availability of exter-
nal funds.
The quality of the graduate students as measured by GRE scores
is the highest on the campus, and applications have been received from
first-rate institutions including Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Smith,
and others. While the doctoral program began only in 1971 and has not
yet reached an optimum graduate enrollment, it is already clear that
few Albany programs are closer to the highest level of distinction.
Employment prospects in geology are excellent.
The Department's low student/faculty ratio (8.1) and high cost
($96) can be defended on the basis of quality, but some enrollment
increases are needed to move these figures closer to those for other
departments in the division. The Department sees its own most pres—
sing need as additional assistantships: none of the current holders
of the six assistantships are about to graduate, so that there may well
be no possibility of awarding an assistantship to a new applicant
this year.
Recommendation: The Select Committee recommends, as a high priority,
the infusion of several additional assistantships to raise enrollment
and to tide the graduate program over until the fruition of the fac—
ulty's current efforts to obtain outside grant funding for graduate
student support.
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
With a large, vigorous, high-quality faculty, the Department has
a strong Ph.D. program in all areas of pure mathematics, according to
the evaluators. Most of the 42 members are doing significant research,
many with outside support. The quality of the teaching is excellent.
With a large undergraduate workload, the student/faculty ratio
(16) is significantly above the Division's average of 13.2 and the cost
per credit ($52) is slightly below average. A puzzling inconsistency
is the 7.2 average weekly contact hours, lowest for the Division, and
representing statistical support for the Graduate Academic Council's
belief that the graduate program with current faculty resources can
accommodate twice the current number of 30 students. An increase in
the current number of 15 assistantships may be necessary to bring
about this enrollment increase, however.
The Department should continue its efforts to improve the quality
of its graduate students which, because of the newness of the program,
has not yet caught up with the quality of the faculty. In view of
the tight job market, a focus on applied mathematics would attract
more high quality students. Nationwide publicity efforts should be
increased. No increase in support level is indicated but private
offices for productive faculty should have a high priority. As the
evaluators noted, a mathematician's office is his laboratory.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with
normal resource allocation.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
The Department of Physics faculty is particularly strong in solid
state, nuclear, and some areas of atomic physics. The groups in these
areas have national and international visibility, and have enjoyed con-
siderable outside funding for research. Facilities are excellent, and
the flexible and efficient nuclear accelerator is attracting enough
external money to be completely self-supporting. The size of the
faculty (26) and the number of graduate students (38) is adequate.
The student/faculty ratio of 9.8 and the high cost per credit of $83 can
be justified on the basis of program quality. Recent undergraduate
enrollment increases, however, have produced an improving trend in
these data (rising student/faculty ratio, lowering cost).
An average of seven doctorates has been awarded in each of the
last three years and placement has been good. The faculty
should perhaps emulate the commendable efforts of the chemistry
faculty to raise the quality of graduate students by vigorously re-
cruiting the best prospective students at undergraduate institutions.
The Department should go further in the direction of assigning heavier
teaching loads, including lab sections, to faculty who are not actively
engaged in research. The current number of 19 university assistant-
ships appears adequate and the physics faculty should be strongly
encouraged to support more students on external grants.
The Select Committee regards physics as a core program but does
not believe it should be expanded. The Department should instead
follow the outside evaluators' recommendation to build on present
strengths even if this adversely affects the smaller sub-specialities.
The leadership of the new chairman, who is now being actively
sought, will be crucial to this Department's future.
Recommendation: Continuance of the program is recommended with normal
resource allocation.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Background and Structure
The School of Education is heir to a long tradition of teacher
training in New York State. Founded in 1844 as a Normal School, the
University was in 1890 designated by the Board of Regents as a Normal
College and granted specific responsibility for preparing teachers
for secondary and normal schools in the state. Authorization to
award the B.A. and B.S. degree was granted in 1905; advanced programs
leading to master's degrees were added in 1913, and the first advan-
ced programs leading to the Ed.D. (Educational Administration) were
introduced in 1960. The New York State College for Teachers was
incorporated as part of the State University of New York in 1948, and
designated as a University Center in 1962.
For the academic year 1974-75, of the total of 14,521 students
(including 4,623 graduate students) enrolled in the State University
of New York at Albany, 2,366 are enrolled in the School of Education;
2,116 of these are graduate students. The total SUNY-Albany instruc~
tional cost for academic programs in 1974-75 is $15,000,000; of this
amount, $2,7000,000 is allotted to academic programs in the School of
Education.
The ten departments included in the School of Education offer a
great variety of doctoral and master's programs, together with pro-
grams leading to university certification. Programs leading to the
Ph.D. are offered by the Department of Educational Psychology and
Statistics (with concentrations in learning-instruction, developmen-
tal, measurement, research, and applied statistics), and by the
Department of Educational Foundations (with specializations in the
history, philosophy, and sociology of education). Programs leading
to the Ed.D. are offered by the Departments of Counseling, Curriculum
and Instruction, Educational Administration, Reading, Business
Education, and the Department of Instruction (with specializations
in English, Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Social
Studies). University Certificate programs in appropriate speciali-
zations are offered by the Department of Educational Communications
and the above mentioned Departments, (except for the Department of
Educational Foundations,which offers only the Ph.D.). The Department
of Educational Psychology and Statistics offers two University
Certificate programs, one in Educational Research, the other in School
Psychology jointly with the Department of Psychology. Programs
leading to the M.S. are offered by every Department in the School of
Education (other than the Department of Educational Foundations) ,
including the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology; the
Department of Educational Psychology and Statistics offers the M.S.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION - PAGE 2
degree in Educational Psychology and Statistics and also in Education of
the Emotionally Disturbed.
The School also offers programs leading to the master's degree in
Bilingual Education and in Teaching English as a Second Language, pro-
grams (coordinated by the Department of Instruction) in Basic Classroom
Teaching (BCT) and in Advanced Classroom Teaching (ACT), both of which
lead to secondary school certification and to the M.A. or M.S.; and the
program in General Professional Studies (directed by the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction), which ordinarily qualifies students for a
permanent certificate for teaching and for a master's degree. On-campus
and off-campus supervision of student teachers is the responsibility of
the Coordinator of Student Teaching, in conjunction with the Department
of Instruction. The Departments of Health, Physical Education, and
Recreation, finally, are a part of the School of Education for adminis-
trative and budgetary purposes.
A number of laboratory and research centers are more or less closely
affiliated with the School of Education and/or with its component Depart—
ments. The Milne School (including its component, the State School,
“for children who are at high risk for school failure") has served as
a campus laboratory school directly under the School of Education. The
Center for Research and Field Services promotes cooperation between
university personnel and area schools or community groups. The Two-
Year College Student Development Center provides various kinds of help
to two-year colleges in the state. The Department of Reading maintains
and operates the Reading Center (to improve reading instruction) and the
Reading Clinic (to serve children with reading problems). The Child
Research and Study Center, the Center for Curriculum and Instructional
Research and Development, the Center for Educational Counseling, the
Northeastern New York Speech Center, and the Educational Communications
Laboratory are administered by or closely connected with, respectively,
the Departments of Educational Psychology and Statistics, Curriculum
and Instruction, Counseling, Audiology and Speech Pathology, and Educa-
tional Communications.
Programmatic Emphases:
The Committee is generally in agreement that a School of Education
with high academic aspirations and a commitment to excellence has a leg-
itimate place in a University Center. In the most general terms, the
School of Education may be said to concern itself with three areas:
teacher education and professional training; scholarship and research
bearing on educational methods and issues; and a broad variety of service
functions (e.g., continuing professional education, consultative field
service, and direct clinical services). Until comparatively recent times,
the School has placed a relatively heavy emphasis on the first and third
of these areas. However, with the introduction (in 1960) of a doctoral
degree in Educational Administration, and the subsequent introduction
of the Ed.D. in other departments, the 'research function" of the School
of Education has almost necessarily assumed much greater significance
than in the years before 1960; this development has been hastened
and intensified by the introduction of the Ph.D. in the Department of
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION - PAGE 3
Educational Psychology and Statistics (in 1964) and the Department of
Educational Foundations (in 1967), with important consequences for views
of the priorities appropriate to the School's role. In fact,
there appears to be an emerging recognition of the need to coordinate
teaching, research, and service components within each educational sub-
discipline to which the School directs its attention.
At the present time, while the School continues to assign a high
priority to its commitment to the preparation of teachers of academic
and business subjects at the secondary school level, a strong case can
be made (and has been made, in the Proposal for Reorganization of the
School of Education, prepared by ten members of the School, with Pro-
fessor Mauritz Johnson as Chairman, and submitted to the Dean in Decem-
ber, 1974) for the claims of other commitments to at least equally high
priorities. It is argued (1) that the School ought to serve the state,
and the nation, essentially as a graduate center in education; (2) that
in this context it should seek to establish its own particular identity
and excellence by concentrating on those roles it is especially (in some
cases uniquely) equipped to perform, while avoiding unnecessary dupli-
cation of roles assumed by other comparable institutions in the state;
(3) that some increased degree of cooperation and consolidation among
presently separate and independent programs within the School appears
to be justified in terms of changing social need, funding sources, and
professional disciplinary conditions; and (4) that the School should
aim at turning out graduates whose preparation is somewhat more broadly-
based than that of many graduates at the present time, and who may there-
fore be relatively better prepared to confront "the realities that exist
in professional job settings." (Johnson Report, p. 21)
The Select Committee does not pretend to the competence necessary
to adjudicate precisely and in detail between the merits of these views
(not to mention the scheme for their implementation set forth in the
Johnson Report) and those advanced in opposition to them --. especially
in view of the recent rejection of the Johnson Report by the School.
The need to retain and preserve unique features of given programs, to
resist proposals that may (by too casually enlarging the range of given
programs) threaten the maintenance of high academic standards, to guard
against the needless extension of centralized administrative controls:
these are all matters which must surely be taken into account. Still,
the Select Committee is impressed by the cogency and realism of the
bread positions enunciated in the Johnson Report, and by the Report's
concern to reduce the number of separate specialist and doctoral pro-
grams, thus "gaining flexibility and emphasizing the common concerns
and objectives of the various departments within the School." The winds
of change are blowing through educational institutions of every kind;
certainly it would seem wise, from time to time, to reassess the thrust
and goals of any such institution, and proceed to make such organiza-
tional changes as may be appropriate to institutional principle and har-
mony, in the context of larger social change.
The Programs:
Note: The following comments are directed essentially to doctoral
programs, or to programs for which the M.S. or specialist
certificate is the highest graduate degree presently granted
by the department in question.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION - PAGE 4
In certain respects, all departments in the School are performing
to at least a satisfactory standard and in some cases to a very high
standard of excellence. The quality of teaching in every department
is highly regarded by students and by external evaluators. Clinics and
research centers are, in the main, efficiently operated or employed by
the departments to which these facilities are related or attached, al-
though a shortage of funds is creating serious problems for the Depart-
ment of Educational Communications and (especially) for the Department
of Audiology and Speech Pathology in regard to its cooperation with the
Northeastern New York Speech Center and even in its capacity to maintain
its own laboratory facilities. The range, organization, and goals of
programs in departmental programs (except for those of two departments)
are adjudged to be generally satisfactory; in some cases (e.g., the
Department of Educational Psychology and Statistics), programs have
been singled out for special praise by external reviewers. Student
quality seems to be quite high across the board, on the evidence of
GRE scores and, in some cases, the comments of external reviewers.
Faculty/student relations are also generally excellent. Placement of
graduates, finally, has not for most departments been a problem, al-
though the very small numbers of doctoral degrees granted by three de-
partments do not really provide sufficient evidence for significant
judgments in this particular regard.
Two other areas (still speaking of the School generally) present
some problems. With notable exceptions (Educational Psychology and
Statistics, Reading, Counseling), departments generally appear to be
somewhat deficient in the area of basic research and productive scholar-
ship. This is not to say that textbooks, project reports, and published
materials of an "applied" nature are not forthcoming from some persons
in most departments; it may perhaps also be granted that one does not
expect massive publication in areas of basic research from a technically-
oriented department such as Educational Communications, which does not
in any event offer a doctoral degree. Still, the impression remains
(and this is confirmed by the comments of external reviewers and the
language of GAC reports) that a number of departments ought to place
relatively greater emphasis on research activity than is now the case.
For instance, one is struck by the fact that the external evaluators
of a doctoral program (in the course of an otherwise very favorable
review) note that departmental "scholarly production is in most cases
not voluminous and . . . research and publication generally not such
as to establish wide reputation among professional colleagues."
Comments of this nature are not lightly to be brushed aside.
A second area of difficulty is organizational in character. In
so far as organizational changes may permit some increased economy of
resources, such matters are presumably relevant to the present Report.
Whether or not the School ought to be sweepingly reorganized across
disciplinary lines in the fashion suggested by the Johnson Report,
the present relationship of the Departments of Curriculum and Instruction,
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION - PAGE 5
Business Education and Instruction, ought surely to be somehow revised.
External reviewers and the GAC have drawn attention to "the costly dup-
lication and overlap that seem inevitable under the present structure,"
as well as to "the evident lack of cordial relationships" among the three
departmental chairpersons that in some degree reflects the lack of real co-
ordination of effort among these three Departments. An external reviewer
has suggested that the three Departments "could function separately as
departments at undergraduate levels and the Office of Graduate Studies
for graduate purposes could consider the three departments as one Depart-
ment of Curriculum and Instruction, and request that someone be designated
by the faculty of these departments, or by the School of Education, to
serve as department head." Consultants have also noted similar over-
lapping in course content between Educational Administration and some
other departments. Reorganization to eliminate some areas of possible
overlap would perhaps also permit some reduction in the number of degrees
and certificates, and even establish a useful example for further re-
alignments of responsibility elsewhere in the School, should these be
deemed necessary. Whatever device may be adopted, some sort of reorgan-
ization appears to be indicated as a present need in this case.
Another kind of organizational change which would seem to promise
a degree of increased economy of resources bears on the numerous service
clinics and laboratory facilities. Either of the two alternative models
for a Regional Educational Services Center (described in the Johnson
Report) might well serve to increase the overall efficiency of these
clinics and facilities, and would presumably allow for increased flex-
ibility and coordination among these various services.
With regard to the School of Education generally, the Select Com-
mittee makes three recommendations:
1. The School should continue to explore (and to implement, as may
be consistent with the harmonious and efficient operation of its
educational undertakings) possibilities for reorganization of its
present structure, in the interests of (1) eliminating duplication
and overlap of function, (2) promoting significant cooperation
and flexibility among component departments and services, (3) en-
abling departmental groups to develop interdisciplinary research
activities on a scale and in combinations likely to attract ex-
ternal funding, and (4) assuring that the School of Education is
appropriately in phase with changing social needs and professional
conditions.
2. All departments should be encouraged (and, where necessary, dir-
ected) to emphasize the importance of productive research activity
in their current operations, and, where recruitment is in question,
to conduct aggressively-mounted searches for new staff members who
are clearly research-oriented and whose scholarly publication seems
especially likely to contribute to the School's ongoing quest for
excellence as a graduate center of education.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION - PAGE 6
3. The School should establish an ad hoc committee to investigate and
render a final decision on the question of the appropriate relation-
ship among the three Departments of Instruction, Business Education,
and Curriculum and Instruction.
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
Superficially, the situation in the Department of Business Education
is broadly similar to that of the Department of Instruction The Depart-
ment offers Basic Classroom Teaching (BCT) and Advance Classroom Teaching
(ACT) programs leading to the M.S. with certification in business or
distributive education subjects at the secondary level; an Ed.D. is
offered under the Curriculum and Instruction umbrella, with speciali-
zation in business or distributive education. Programs at the master's
level seem to be sensibly organized, well taught, and responsive to a
real need; the Department annually contributes an estimated 60% of be-
ginning teachers of business in upstate schools. The faculty is not,
strictly speaking, research-oriented, but several staff members have
published textbooks and technically-oriented articles; all are active
in professional groups.
At the Ed.D. level, however, there are some problems. As with
the Department of Instruction, external reviewers have suggested that
for graduate purposes Business Education might better be subsumed under
Curriculum and Instruction. The Department responds that the vocational
emphasis of Business Education gives that field its particular autonomy,
and somewhat sets it apart from other academically-oriented subject
disciplines; a difficulty with this stance is that one wonders about
the appropriateness of a discipline chiefly vocational (at the doctoral
level) in a School of Education moving toward advanced status as a
graduate center in education. Only two doctorates have been granted,
and the number of students in the program is not impressively large.
It must rely on the School of Business for "content" courses, a sit-
uation that presents continuing difficulties in curricular management,
and is aggravated by the small numbers of students. All doctoral students
complete most of their programs on a part-time basis.
Program goals are regarded by one external reviewer as carelessly
and vaguely conceived; by another as probably invalid. Departmental
responses to these comments stress the need for persons with a doctorate
in Business Education, but hard evidence that colleges in fact prefer
such persons to those with the M.S. degree has not been forthcoming.
Finally, one of the external evaluators remarks that teachers in
the area of business at two-year colleges might better be prepared at
schools of business than at schools of education; and also that he
does not see "why there should a doctoratein the Department of Business
Education." In his view, Business Education should be treated "in the
same manner as other subject areas." All these various kinds of ev-
idence and opinion suggest to the Committee that, given the directions
in which the School of Education at SUNY-Albany appears to be moving,
to offer a doctorate in Business Education may not be altogether
appropriate.
Recommendation: The doctoral program should be terminated. The ques-
tion of the Department's most appropriate relationship to the Department
of Curriculum and Instruction, and to the Department of Instruction,
should be reviewed and finally settled by an ad hoc committee within the
School.
DEPARTMENT OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
The program in Curriculum and Instruction has earned high praise
in some respects from external evaluators: its staff is described as
“distinguished . . . including two well-known national authorities,"
its students are of high quality, its programmatic emphasis in the pro-
duction of educational "generalists" appears to be thoughtful and sen-
sible, and its extensive network of cooperative undertakings with Euro-
pean educational institutions has been widely praised.
External reviewers spoke favorably of the goals and directions of
the Curriculum and Instruction doctoral program in particular, and
foresaw a continuing demand for the generalist type of curriculum
specialists being trained by the Department. On the whole, the Select
Committee found this Department to be soundly conceived and administered,
but noted that the program continues to be characterized by duplication
and overlap with (in particular) the program in Instruction.
Recommendation: The program should be continued at its present level
of resources. A somewhat greater degree of cooperation and interaction
with the Department of Educational Administration would appear to be
appropriate, in view of the fact that doctoral programs in both Depart-
ments prepare persons who are subsequently employed as educational
administrators.
DEPARTMENT OF COUNSELING AND PERSONNEL SERVICES
The program in Counseling is marked by steady improvement (since
the inception of the program in 1962) of program strength, student
quality, and research undertaken by the faculty (reflected in staffing
policy). "The entire Department seems remarkably open to professional
and intellectual growth" (Graduate Academic Council, May 1972). The
Department has been active in exploring avenues of possible cooperation
with other campus units, e.g., the School of Social Welfare. External
demand for graduates of the program seems to be assured for some considerable
period of time ("well into the 1980's"), Recruiting efforts have attracted
students from ethnic minorities and from a relatively wide geographical
area. The number of fellowships seems to be adequate; space problems
are a continuing concern,but this is, perhaps, a universal complaint
on the SUNY-Albany campus.
The Department has 230 graduate students and a student/faculty ratio
of 14.4, A high cost per credit of $72 appears justified on the basis
of the size and quality of the doctoral and specialist programs. More-
over, the clinical aspects of this field require greater than average
expenditures. The Department now awards an average of 124 master's
degrees and 7 doctorates per year, and placement is good.
Recommendations:
This program is in demand and has a heavy clinical emphasis. In
view of the need to protect the program's high quality, and in view
of the Department's demonstrated ability to use resources effectively,
the Department should be given high priority for additional resources
from within the School.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
The Ed.D. Program in Educational Administration is the oldest
and largest doctoral program on the campus and has graduated more
doctoral students than any other. According to the external consultants,
the program can be rated in the top 15% nationally in this field, and it
does a fine job of training public school administrators. Admissions
standards are adequate to ensure quality but could use further improving.
Within the SUNY system, there are only two doctoral programs in this
field and placement of graduates has been quite successful.
The Graduate Academic Council report in 1972 suggested that a
better balance between research and practitioner orientations was
needed and that closer ties with Public Administration and Business
Administration might benefit all three programs. Faculty publications
show a heavy preponderance of project reports and other writings of a
practical nature, but recent faculty appointments indicate that the
Department has moved toward a better scholar-practitioner balance,
and these efforts should continue.
The program is considered to be meeting an important social need.
While the program is the third most costly in the School, in terms of
cost per completed credit, that does not appear to justify a reduction
of resources.
Recommendation
The program should be continued at its present level of resources.
A somewhat greater degree of cooperation and interaction with the
Department of Curriculum and Instruction would appear to be appropriate,
in view of the fact that doctoral programs in both Departments prepare
persons who are subsequently employed as educational administrators.
Cooperative ties to other cognate programs, such as Public Administration,
and Business Administration should also be developed.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS
The programs in Educational Communications are variously described
as "quite sound," "functioning well," and marked by a "clear set of
objectives and a high demand for the graduates." There are some 120
students presently enrolled in the M.S. program; on the other hand,
only one Specialist degree has been granted since the beginning of
the program in 1968 and only 9 students are currently enrolled in this
program. While the faculty is not significantly engaged in scholarly
research as such, most staff members actively contribute to literature
in the field. However, Departmental workloads are very high, and the
student/faculty ratio is also high. Standards of admission seem to be
much too low; 98% of all applicants were admitted in 1974. Facilities
are crowded. More funds are needed to maintain and replace equipment,
which in this field, quickly become obsolete or outmoded.
Recommendation: In the light of present demand for these programs,
they should be conditionally continued for a three-year period, during
which time the Department should earnestly seek to adjust its workload,
introduce rigorous admissions standards, and (in conjuction with the
School) aggressively explore every avenue of potential funding. The
Department is encouraged to seek increased cooperation with the School
of Library Science. In the third year, the programs should be reassessed
to determine whether or not the degree of progress in the directions
indicated justifies continuation.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND STATISTICS
The doctoral program offered by the Department of Educational
Psychology and Statistics is in many ways the most outstanding program
offered at the present time in the School of Education. The faculty,
which includes several persons of national "visibility," is relatively
young, research-oriented, and productive; the quality of dissertations
is excellent. Student quality seems to be the highest in the School,
and the program is certainly among the strongest in the University at
large. Grant support, presently good, is steadily increasing. Depart-
mental courses and expertise are utilized on a wide scale by faculty
and students from other departments in the School and throughout the
University. The Committee's demand data rated this Department's graduate
courses as the highest on campus in terms of internal demand.
The diversified programs in the Department generate a graduate FTE
of 216 students and the overall student/faculty ratio is 16.1. A modest
cost per credit of $50 is below average for the School. The Department
generally graduates about 50 masters and 6 Ph.D. degrees per year. Place-
ment has been excellent.
Recommendation:
In view of the high demand, the Department's demonstrated ability to
use resources effectively, and the need to protect the high quality of
this program,the Department should be given high priority for additional
resources from within the School. It appears that the provision of a
statistics laboratory might pay good dividends for the School and for
SUNY-Albany as well as the Department.
DEPARTMENT OF FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION
The Ph.D. program inFoundations of Education has been highly com-
mended by external evaluators on several counts: its imaginative program,
described as "uniquely valuable," the quality of teaching and of students
in the program, the enthusiastic interplay of faculty and students, and
the atmosphere of eager commitment that pervades the program. There is
some evidence of interdisciplinary activity with departments outside the
School of Education; rather less with other departments within the School.
It is clear that departmental courses attract many students from other
departments in the School and the University, at all levels. Curiously,
however (for a Ph.D. program), the scholarly production of the faculty
is, in the opinion of the external reviewers, quantitatively and qual-
itatively deficient. Apart from the work of one research-oriented
figure with a national reputation, the faculty's research and publication
record is not professionally impressive. This seems odd, especially
for a program leading to the Ph.D. Again, only a single doctorate has
been granted (in 1972) since the program began in 1967-68. It appears
that 5 candidates may finish their dissertations by June, 1976. Still,
of the two other doctoral programs that began in the same year, one has
granted 15 degrees, the other (the very small Department of Classics)
three degrees. Two doctoral programs initiated in 1968-69 have granted
9 and 4 degrees respectively; the program initiated in 1969-70 has
granted 7 degrees. Another point: in the fall of 1973, four students
(of a total of 30) had completed all requirements except the dissertation;
by the spring of 1975, it is reported that at least 14 students are at
the dissertation stage. Students in the program, then, seem to be com-
pleting course work without undue delay, but progress on dissertations
is much less rapid. In short, the promise of this program cannot yet
be said to have been matched by completed performance. While these
factors presumably do not justify suspending the program, they give
one pause when an increased allocation of resources is in question.
Recommendation: The program should be conditionally continued for a
three-year period, with the proviso that it should be reassessed at the
conclusion of that period to assure that (a) the faculty has in the
interim made important contributions to published research in the field;
(b) that the program has begun to turn out significant numbers of grad-
uates, and gives good evidence of being likely to continue to do so.
Failing the establishment of these matters, the program should be sus-
pended, and perhaps replaced by a program at the master's level. Mean-
while, a hard look should be taken at the number of fellowships made
available to the program.
DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND RECREATION
The Departments of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation pro-
vide a wide range of service programs at the undergraduate level. No
compelling reasons have been advanced to increase or reduce resources
presently made available to these Departments.
Recommendation:
The program should be continued at the present level
of resources.
DEPARTMENT OF INSTRUCTION
The major focus of the Department of Instruction is on the teaching
of methods of instruction; the Department directs, supervises, or co-
ordinates a wide range of programs leading to the University Certificate
and to the M.A./M.S. degree, notably the very successful programs in
Teaching English as a Second Language and in Bilingual Education, which
have prospered under this Department's management. There can be little
quarrel with the organization, goals, and quality of these programs.
There is a problem in the area of the Department's Ed.D. in Curriculum
and Instruction with the specialization acquired in the Department of
Instruction. Reference has already been made to the troublesome pre-
sence within the present departmental structure of the School of dupli-
cation and overlap between the Departments of Instruction and of Cur-
riculum and Instruction. An external reviewer has drawn attention to
the "waste of faculty resources" involved when "two of three departments
all having a program in curriculum and instruction both list courses in
supervision of student teaching, seminar in teaching or instruction,
independent study, internship . . .," and this same reviewer has pro-
posed (as cited above) that three departments (Curriculum and Instruction,
Instruction, and Business Education) should for graduate purposes be
considered as one department of curriculum and instruction, with a
single department head for graduate work.
Further, there appears to be some question, on larger grounds,
whether it is appropriate for the Department of Instruction to offer
the Ed.D. at all. The same reviewer observes that "the chief mission
of the Departments of Instruction and Business Education appears to be
their undergraduate programs" (i.e., their bachelor's and master's pro-
grams), noting that they have "few doctoral . . . candidates for curricu-
lum and instruction leadership positions." The Department of Instruction
granted just two doctorates in 1971-72, two more in 1972-73, and a single
doctorate in 1973-74. The GRE scores of students in the Department are
certainly high, but the demand for students with this degree does not
appear to be significantly large. Again, while the publications and
research activities of departmental faculty are worth noting, only two
or three persons are presently publishing in what might be called areas
of basic research in the field. Finally, it is difficult to be confident
about the quality of faculty support for dissertations submitted for a
doctorate in a specialization manned by only one or two staff members,
even in the light of departmental efforts to regroup resources in this
regard.
Recommendation: The doctoral program in Instruction should be suspended
(although students presently enrolled in the program should certainly
proceed to their doctorates), and the redeployment of fellowships to
doctoral students in the program should be reviewed. The question of
the Department's most appropriate relationship to the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction should be reviewed and finally settled by
an ad hoc committee within the School.
DEPARTMENT OF READING
The Reading program is strongly research-oriented, and it is dir-
ected by productive scholars who are, for the most part, actively engaged
in high-quality scholarship. An outside evaluator describes dissertations
produced by the program as "equal to or better than those produced at
any institution in the country." Departmental clinics and laboratory
facilities received particular praise. While evaluators suggest that
the faculty might press somewhat more energetically for external sup-
port than is presently the case, the present level of outside funding
is described as good. Questions raised by external reviewers bear
chiefly, not on program quality, but on future directions that might
be taken by the Department, which appears to have a high potential for
national prominence. The complimentary character of the remarks made
by external evaluators is the more impressive by reason of the small
number of staff, the relatively modest allocations for assistantships
and fellowships, and the limited equipment budget. The small faculty
of six members has developed healthy ties to other departments.
Reading received 123 applications for admission to the master's
and doctoral programs last year, and external demand continues to grow.
The Department enrolled 287 graduate students in Fall 1974 and the
student/faculty ratio of 16.3 is above average. The cost per credit
of $56 is slightly below the average for the School. Last year the
Department awarded 119 master's and four doctoral degrees, and place-
ment is good.
Recommendation:
In view of the high demand for programs in Reading, the need to
protect the existing high quality of the Department, and Department's
demonstrated ability to use resources effectively, Reading should be
assigned a high priority for additional resources from within the
School.
DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY
The M.S. program in Audiology and Speech Pathology presents a dif-
ficult problem. The number of faculty members is barely adequate at
the present time, and may become inadequate when Competency Based
Teacher Education (CBTE) requirements are implemented in the latter part
of this year. To maintain its present level of instruction and service
in the area of speech pathology, no additional staff are needed; however,
to attain certification from the American Speech and Hearing Association
(ASHA) as a Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, a massive influx
of senior faculty would be required.
The Department is also in dire need of funds to improve its library
holdings, and particularly, to maintain its equipment and laboratory
facilities, some of which are presently inoperative because insufficient
funds have been made available for maintenance. At the same time, it
is clear that departmental leadership is energetic and imaginative; that
the staff includes one nationally eminent research-oriented person and
another who is "visible" on an increasing scale; that the program is
well-designed and reasonably innovative; that it is unique in the region
in terms of scope and quality; and that it is supplying a real need (in
school systems, clinics, etc.) for trained professionals in the area
of speech pathology.
The Department is presently seeking to recruit a research-oriented
person to supplement existing staff. There also appears to be some
prospect of external funding, but this is not assured. To expect an
increased allocation of University resources in the amount necessary
for the recruitment of senior faculty up to a level that would assure
ASHA certification, seems unrealistic. But to suspend or terminate
this program at the present time would fly in the face of a real and
compelling demand for the program's graduates and its services.
On balance, it appears that the School might well think in terms
of reallocating some portion of its own resoyrces to provide funds at
least for equipment maintenance. Beyond that, the future of the pro-
gram may depend on the amount of external funding that can be made
available. The situation demands aggressive and imaginative efforts
in this regard by Department and School alike. Otherwise a well-run
and useful program may wither away.
Recommendation: The program should be conditionally continued for a
three-year period and should then be reassessed. While prospects for
Departmental certification seem remote, this important program should
not be simply permitted to die on the vine for want of resources. The
School should make a serious effort to allocate some additional funds
from its own resources to enable the maintenance of equipment and lab-
oratory resources vital to the program. The School and the Department
should aggressively explore every avenue of potential funding.
SUPERVISION OF STUDENT TEACHERS
Although the student/faculty ratio for the Supervision of Student
Teachers is the lowest in the School, and the cost per completed credit
the second highest, it appears that the character and significance of
this program sufficiently justify its continuation at present levels
of support and resources unless there is a significant diminution in
the teacher training functions of the School.
Recommendation: The program should be continued at its present level
of resources.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The School of Business provides opportunities, at undergraduate
and graduate levels, for professional education in business adminis-
tration, accounting, and related fields. The School's program of
rigorous training for professional managers emphasizes analytical and
problem-solving skills. Research activities in the School are designed
to advance knowledge in the disciplines fundamental to management and
to contribute to the improvement of managerial practice.
Programs leading to the B.S. and M.S. in Business were inaugurated
in 1962. The M.B.A. program, initiated in 1966, was in 1970 redesigned
into a unique two-year program. This program is designed for students
who have a limited background or none at all in business subjects;
external reviewers consider it to be "innovative" and "creative". It
appears to be responding to a very heavy demand. The School also
offers a program leading to the M.S. in accounting, which meets heavy
societal demand.
External evaluators observe that the faculty (which includes 44
full-time and 13 part-time staff, with an FTE faculty of 49.5) is
somewhat deficient in terms of research and publication. The develop-
ment of the MBA program has in some degree cut into faculty time that
might otherwise have been devoted to research; in the next few years
however, several retiring faculty will be replaced, and the School
intends to stress scholarship in these appointments. The student/faculty
ratio is approximately 23, among the highest in the University.
The quality of the students is good, as grade point averages and
test scores indicate. There are about 800 undergraduate majors and
about 240 graduate students. Increasing enrollments at the undergraduate
level, including some 200 transfer students a year, are creating staffing
problems. Placement, however, is not at the moment a problem: all
1974 graduates of the M.B.A. and the M.S. in Accounting programs were
satisfactorily placed.
Recommendations:
Graduate and undergraduate programs alike are rated by evaluators
as satisfactory. Generally speaking, the School maintains high quality
in all its undertakings, although the scholarly achievements of the
faculty have not been especially impressive.
1. The Select Committee endorses the addition of faculty as
presently scheduled for Fall 1975.
2. The Committee recommends that the policy of differential work
loads be developed further for the purpose of relieving those with
research projects from some teaching demands.
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS - PAGE 2
3.
The Committee recommends that persons considered for faculty
appointments should have demostrated a serious commitment to
scholarly research.
Given the fact that the School is presently strained to the
utmost to meet demands at undergraduate and graduate levels,
the Committee recommends that the institution of a doctoral
program ought not to be considered at this time.
SCHOOL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
External evaluators describe this Ph.D. program as the best of its
kind in the country, and probably in the world. The faculty is highly
"yisible," in an international context as well as on the national scene.
Every staff member is engaged in significant research; the School has
obtained considerable amounts of external funding for research and for
its programs. Nine (of fourteen) staff members are described by ex-
ternal evaluators as national authorities. External funding supports
one annual visiting professorship. Ten faculty members are tenured;
three are in the tenure stream.
The availability of substantial external funds has enabled the
School to extend financial aid to a relatively large number of stu-
dents. Financial aid for doctoral students, however, has been some-
thing of a problem: more grants, at higher levels, would keep more
doctoral students on campus until they have completed requirements
for their degrees.
The students are academically of excellent quality. Large num-
bers of top-quality students, whose grade point averages and GRE
scores are high, and who represent (to date) twenty-six states and
a number of foreign countries, apply annually for admissions to the
graduate program. The School rejects more candidates than it accepts.
It is worth noting that more Lehman Fellowships have been awarded to
these students in 1973 than to any other institution in New York State,
and that student publications are impressive.
The placement of graduates is excellent and will no doubt con-
tinue to be so, because of heavy demand, the small number of graduates
in the United States, and the superior reputation of this School.
Graduates are employed in teaching, research, planning and operations
in areas of public concern.
The School of Criminal Justice is the most expensive of the pro-
fessional schools in terms of a cost per credit of $95, and its stu-
dent/faculty ratio is the second lowest (12.5). These favorable
figures appear to be justified on the basis of quality and need.
Moreover, the School offers the only such doctoral program in SUNY.
Recommendations:
The program should be continued at the present level of resources.
If the School of Criminal Justice were given more resources, we have
confidence that they would be used wisely and effectively, and the
School should not be discriminated against because of its success in
attracting external funding. The Select Committee, however, is not
able to recommend additional University resources as an immediate
priority.
SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
The School of Library and Information Science, which dates
to 1926, assumed its present name in 1971. The B.S. in Library
Science, given until 1951, was replaced in that year by the degree
of Master of Library Science. More than 2,000 degrees have been
granted by the School.
The School has received approximately 500 master's applications
each year for the past three years. The quality of students is good,
as verbal and quantitative GRE scores indicate. To reduce its program
size the School has cut the number of students admitted. Enrollment
has consequently dropped from 387 in the fall of 1971, to 240 in
1974; the number of degrees awarded has declined, from 243 in 1971-72,
to 171 last year.
Statistics provided by the Department of Labor indicate a level
demand for librarians. Hence, placement of the School's graduates should
continue to be satisfactory, although graduates may increasingly
have to accept positions beyond the Albany area.
Of the 17 faculty members, 13 are tenured; 12 hold the doctorate,
but none are especially outstanding scholars, although one person
has edited two books, three have edited journals, and four have
published 20 or more articles and book reviews. During the next two
years there will be three retirements; an Information Science line
has also to be filled. These openings provide an opportunity to
develop new specializations, Given a student/faculty ratio of 12.5,
and a relatively large number of assistantships, the prospects for
productive scholarly research appear to be good.
Programmatic changes are in prospect: in the fall of
of 1975, entering students will take three one credit courses in the
School of Business; the program may be extended to 60 credits, to
keep pace with modern librarianship (especially information science) ,
A proposal to offer the doctorate, approved by the University, has
not been activated in view of the state's moratorium on new doctoral
programs. The School believes that, given favorable circumstances,
a doctoral program could be maintained with the addition of only two
faculty members, and that four or five graduates could be placed
each year. Librarians with doctorates are employed as heads of large
metropolitan libraries and increasingly in college and university libraries.
It is recognized, however, that academic libraries generally are not
expanding at the present time.
Recommendations:
Given decreasing enrollments, and the fact that placement prospects
at the doctoral level are not at present especially encouraging, together
SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE - PAGE 2
with the relatively modest scholarly record of the faculty, the
Committee is not convinced that further commitment of University
resources (to support the development of a doctorate) is justifiable
at this time. Moreover, the cost per completed credit ($71) is
the second highest among the professional schools.
The Committee therefore recommends:
1. that the proposal for a doctoral program be recalled.
2. that the School continue to improve the quality of its M.L.S.
program, which is meeting a real demand.
3. that new faculty, including replacements, should have demon-
strated a strong commitment to scholarly research.
4. that the overall level of resources allocated to this School
be reduced somewhat.
5. that the School seek ways of joint programming with the
Department of Educational Communications.
SCHOOL OF NURSING
The School of Nursing, which opened in 1967, offers the B.S.
degree. This program is innovative and in some ways unique in the
state. It integrates nursing with arts and sciences throughout the
four years; beginning in the sophomore year, the five nursing sub-
divisions are mutually integrated throughout that and the remaining
two years. No graduate programs are presently offered, although the
establishment of a master's program has recently been recommended
by the School, in the light of the official view that a master's
degree is a minimum requirement for professional nurses "who hold
positions as coordinators of care, administrators, and nursing faculty."
The likelihood that New York State will require periodic short-term
training for the renewal of the professional license in nursing every
five years is also relevant to this issue.
The faculty includes one professor, five associate professors,
six assistant professors, and seven instructors; there are also two
part-time lecturers, one counselor (supported by outside funds)
and four teaching assistants. All carry very heavy work loads. The
student/faculty ratio for faculty in clinical areas of the health
sciences is normally 3.0 to 1; in the School of Nursing it is 7.3
to 1. Though this ratio is high for a health science Program, it is
among the lowest on this campus for an undergraduate program which
means that the School of Nursing is among the high cost programs
at SUNY-Albany.
The faculty serve the community in many ways, as well as providing
in-service refresher courses for working nurses. Thus, much of their
work load is not reflected in FTE's. There seems to be some likeli-
hood that additional external funding (for additional faculty) may,
in the future, be forthcoming from H.E.W., but legislation to that
effect, however, has not yet been enacted.
The School accepts a relatively low proportion (about 25%) of
those who apply for admission. Although the School has not accepted
transfers in previous years, it expects to admit some 45 transfer students
for 1975-76. The academic quality of those students who are admitted
is quite high; the mean high school rank is higher than the rank for
all students admitted to SUNY-Albany. In 1974, for example, the School
of Nursing selected from among students in the upper 7% of high school
seniors; the University selected from the upper 10%. Grade point
averages are high; 60% of the thirty-one graduates in 1973 were
granted their degrees cum laude. Attrition is also very light.
It should be also noted that there are only two males among the stu-
dent body.
In 1973 thirty-one graduates took the State Board examination and
all passed. Demand for graduates is excellent, since the better hos-
pitals seek nurses who have a bachelor's degree. Of the five students
who graduated in December 1964, four started at salaries of $14,000
per annum.
SCHOOL OF NURSING - PAGE 2
The program at the bachelor's level, and the other community
and in-service programs, appear to be well conceived and managed.
The curriculum, the learning laboratory, the integration of a sig-
nificant component of arts and sciences, perhaps chiefly the dedication
and high morale of the faculty members, combine to deliver a sound
educational experience to the students.
Physical facilities have been noted as quite inadequate. Some
space is used for a learning laboratory which appears to be a valuable
innovation in this program. Other space is occupied by what could
be described as laboratory equipment. These are items that the nurse-
in-training needs for practice before entering an actual nursing
institution.
The Select Committee is concerned that relationships with other
medical resources, (specifically with the Albany Medical Center) seem
not to have been developed to the appropriate degree. A wealth of
medical resources exists within the metropolitan area from which the
School could draw far greater benefits than its present policies allow.
Recommendations:
The School of Nursing believes that its program, to be fully
rounded, should be expanded to the M.S. level. This is a view shared
by the Select Committee. A program of this kind in a university center
appropriately includes a graduate component. However, it is also
the view of the Committee that before consideration is given to this
necessary program addition, or any other addition, that a careful
assessment of the School of Nursing's position at this University Center
should be undertaken.
The obvious lack of medical programs and facilities at SUNY-Albany
raises questions as to whether the School of Nursing is appropriately
placed at this Center. The failure of the State to provide the budge-
tary support normally accorded a health science program, with a conse-
quent heavy proportional demand on SUNY-Albany's budget, and the rela~
tionship of the School of Nursing to the extensive health delivery
and teaching facilities in this region,are two additional reasons
why a careful assessment is in order.
The Select Committee therefore recommends that a committee, sub-
stantially made up of knowledgable persons outside of SUNY-Albany, be
appointed. Its task would be to assess the health education needs of
the state with particular reference to this region, and to make
recommendations regarding graduate training for nurses in this area
and the appropriate location of the School of Nursing. If this
committee concludes that there is not a compelling need for the develop-
ment of a master's program, the School of Nursing at SUNY-Albany
should be phased out. If such a compelling need is in fact demonstrably
SCHOOL OF NURSING - PAGE 3
present,
Ls
the Select Committee recommends as follows:
Two additional faculty members, furided from external sources,
should be hired, to assist with the current program, and to
prepare for the institution of a graduate program.
The dean, for whom a search is presently in progress,
should have a proven commitment to scholarship and research,
as well as other attributes, in order to strengthen these
elements in the School (not now impressive in this regard);
he or she should also be encouraged to explore all avenues
of cooperation with the medical community of this area,
notably the Albany Medical Center.
After its relationship with other universities and health
delivery and training systems in the capital district has
been thoroughly explored, a plan should be developed for
a master's program.
It is recommended that there be some expansion of space and
facilities. The Select Committee is convinced that more
space is needed, but does not have the data needed to make
a specific recommendation,
The Select Committee recommends that qualified male faculty
members and students be brought into the School.
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Background and Structure
The Graduate School of Public Affairs was established in 1962 as an
independent unit by the State University of New York and it became part
of SUNY-Albany in 1966. The School is structured as follows:
1. The Department of Political Science offers programs leading
to the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.
2. The Department of Public Administration offers programs
leading to the degrees of Master of Public Administration
and Doctor of Public Administration.
3. A program in Political Economy, staffed entirely by the
Department of Economics, offers programs leading to the
degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy.
4. A program in Public Affairs leads to the Master of Arts
degree,
The School is staffed by thirty-eight full-time and three part-time
faculty; it has experienced steady enrollment growth, primarily owing to
the graduate program in Public Administration (now three hundred students).
The School's student/faculty ratio of 17.7 is slightly above the cam-
pus average, and the instructional cost per credit ($44) just under the
campus average. The figure for average faculty contact hours per week,
however, is only 8.8, so the faculty generally appears to have ample
time for scholarship.
Attempts by the Department of Public Administration to secure exter-
nal funding have been generally successful and should continue. The
location of this School at the site of the largest state government in
the nation provides a rich opportunity in this regard.
The Select Committee has examined the various programs offered by
this important professional school, but did not have enough time to ad-
dress the question of whether the Political Science Department might be
located to better advantage within the College of Arts and Sciences
rather than the Graduate School of Public Affairs. It leaves this im-
portant question to be explored by the School, College and University.
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
After a substantial decline several years ago, enrollments in the
Department have begun to level off, with a smaller number of graduate
students balanced by growth in undergraduate majors. The student/faculty
ratio has ranged between fourteen and fifteen for the past four years.
The 1972 evaluation of the graduate program commented on leadership
problems in the Department, questioned the size and quality of the grad-
uate student body, suggested that the faculty lacked distinction, and
criticized the program for lacking a special focus, and for inattention
to recently developed areas of political science (chiefly quantitative
analysis and public policy).
Recent data supplied by the Department suggest some improvement
in student quality. For example, the mean of the combined verbal and
quantitative GRE scores for the newer graduate students is 1,163, com-
pared to 1,073 for the more advanced doctoral students. Enrollment
continues to be a problem because employment prospects for political
scientists are not bright; many good undergraduates prefer a career
in law. The current group of sixty-two graduate students appears to
be large enough, however, to sustain a viable array of organized courses,
The Department believes that the small graduate program enables the
faculty to devote a good deal of attention to their students, and that
their graduates (eighteen master's degrees and five doctorates last
year) are well-trained. These views are supported by an excellent
placement record in a bleak market.
Recent appointments in the Department have filled in gaps in
quantitative and public policy areas.. However, the Department has
been slow to focus its program and to take advantage of its location
in Albany. Moreover, the faculty publication and general level of
scholarship, while improving, is still not on the level of scholarship
produced by the faculty at the more prestigious universities offering
the Ph.D. in this field. While several senior faculty members are
publishing and several of the younger faculty may be on the way to
national recognition, the Department nevertheless needs to increase its
scholarly productivity. The point is that the thrust of the Department,
as a total Department, is not strong, and is not making an impact on
the field of political science. The present chairman, however, has
brought stability to departmental leadership, and scholarly progress
seems altogether likely.
Recommendations:
1. The Ph.D. program should be conditionally continued for a
three-year period; it should then be evaluated by an external
team. During this time scholarly productivity must be in-
creased; it is recommended that scholarship should be focused
more clearly on selected areas than is presently the case. 1
2. The Select Committee suggests that the Department of Political iN
Science consider directing more of its effort toward U.S., aa
state, and local government, as would seem to be appropriate
in view of its physical location. The master's program should
share in the improvements and concentration recommended for the
doctorate.
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE -- PAGE 2
3. Any new faculty members should be committed to scholarly re-
search.
4. The Select Committee recommends some diminution of resources
until these improvements have been made.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
The M.P.A. and non-degree programs in Public Administration are in
high demand; total enrollments have doubled in the past five years.
While enrollment has increased, the faculty size has grown very little,
so that the student/faculty ratio since 1970 has grown from 10.5 to
18.9. This is rather high, considering that the Department has no
undergraduate program.
Student quality has improved as enrollment has increased; combined
verbal and quantitative GRE scores of those who enroll average 1,310
for doctoral and 1,110 for master's students. While the Department
has funds to support only twenty-three of its three hundred students,
another thirty-five are supported by external funds. Students are
prepared at the master's level for a wide variety of practitioner
roles in all segments of government. At the doctoral level, students
are prepared for teaching, research, and high level directing and
coordinating roles in public administration. The Department awards
about fifty M.P.A. and three D.P.A. degrees each year. Placement
has been excellent.
External evaluators in 1973 were favorably impressed with the
quality of the program and its faculty. Faculty publication is
generally good and reflects the applied nature of public adminis-
tration.
The Department appears to be moving in sensible directions,
taking advantage of its location in Albany. It is obtaining outside
grants; its reputation is growing. There are no other SUNY doctoral
programs in this field.
Recommendations:
With development of its research and scholarship, this graduate
program could gain national recognition. To this end the Committee
recommends that faculty lines be reallocated within the School to
this Department. This recommendation is justified on the basis of
workload, quality, leadership and capacity for growth, as well as
need. Faculty appointments and replacements should show a high
capacity for and commitment to scholarly research.
The Department should continue its efforts to obtain external
funding for projects that can be expected to enrich the work of
faculty members, the educational experiences of students, and the
contributions of the School to the improvement of public adminis-
tration. In addition, existing relationships with other schools
and departments of the University should be expanded, with the double
aim of both economizing resources and enhancing the students' educa-
tional experience.
PROGRAM IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
This program is a flexible one, designed to serve the needs
of persons who require highly individualized courses of study of an
interdisciplinary nature that do not fall within the established
programs. There are no faculty lines involved. Eight full-time
and ten part-time students are enrolled.
While an interdisciplinary applied master's degree program
in this area fills a need, the present M.A. is not well organized
and has no faculty who identify with it. Admissions standards are
lower than for the master's programs in public administration and
political science, and the students in general do not appear to be
receiving the analytical tools appropriate for an interdisciplinary
applied program.
Recommendation
The Select Committee recommends no additional University
resources at this time; care should be taken that any internal
resources devoted to the program do not detract from the central
purpose of the School. This program meets the needs of some
persons, especially ones currently in government, and it facilitates
interdisciplinary relationships with other schools and departments.
PROGRAM IN POLITICAL ECONOMY
The Ph.D. requirements in Political Economy are identical to
those in Economics. For both the M.A. and the Ph.D. programs, the
Graduate School of Public Affairs administers admissions and awards
the degrees, even though all faculty members come from the Department
of Economics.
The program in Political Economy has recently been reviewed
by an external team as part of the evaluation of the Department of
Economics. The external evaluators cited various faculty and pro-
gram weaknesses. The Department of Economics has voted not to con-
tinue the Ph.D. in Political Economy as a sole responsibility of the
Department, and an ad hoc committee appointed to explore the possi-
bility of an interdepartmental program in Political Economy has been
unsuccessful.
It appears that the program objectives of the Political Economy
Ph.D. might be accomplished either through the Economics Ph.D. pro-
gram or through the D.P.A. program.
Recommendations:
1. The Ph.D. in Political Economy should be terminated.
2. The Master of Arts program should become a part of the
Department of Economics, administratively as well as
academically.
The Select Committee intends by these recommendations to close
this program in the Graduate School of Public Affairs and to place
it instead in the appropriate department. The Select Committee be-
lieves that this action will make it possible for the GSPA to devote
itself to strengthening those aspects of its program, particularly
Public Administration, that constitute its identity and its realm
of greatest contribution to society. In addition, the acceptance
of the recommendations will remove curricular and administrative
ambiguity.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE
The School of Social Welfare, established in 1963, prepares its
students for careers as social work practitioners. Although the
School offers an undergraduate major, its basic program is at the
master's level, leading (in two years) to the degree of Master of
Social Welfare (M.S.W.) in Social Welfare Management or Direct Prac-
tice. The Ph.D. program, approved in 1970, has not been activated.
The undergraduate degree prepares students for "beginning practice
positions," i.e., technicians in para-professional roles. Graduates
with the M.S.W. degree are qualified for higher-level positions of a
supervisory nature. Placement at the M.S.W. level, in any event, is
excellent.
Full-time enrollments at the undergraduate level have increased
from twenty, in 1972, to 110, in 1974; at the master's level from 168
to 189 in the period. Fifty-two M.S.W. degrees were awarded in 1972;
almost twice that number are to be awarded in 1975. The School has
made some efforts to limit undergraduate numbers, in view of the
dramatic increase in enrollments at this level. Student quality,
especially at the master's level, is satisfactory.
Of the nineteen full-time faculty members, nine are tenured, ten
in the tenure stream. There are five part-time members and a number
of adjunct faculty who are supervisors of interns in the agencies.
Faculty members carry heavy workloads: the student/faculty ratio is
20.6 including faculty assigned to internship supervision.
Scholarly activity of faculty members needs improvement, espec-
ially if a Ph.D. program were to be instituted. Several persons
regularly present papers at conventions, and are active in other pro-
fessional ways, but only the Dean and two other faculty members are
regularly engaged in productive research. On the whole, the faculty
is generally not research-oriented. Some members of the faculty who
have in the past been productive scholars seem to have become inactive
in recent years, possibly as a result of heavy workloads. The School
is exploring ways of decreasing workload and improving the quality of
faculty research. Certainly there is an appreciable amount of external
funding available for improvement of programs; the School is seeking
external grants to assist research.
Recommendations:
1. The Select Committee agrees that the School of Social Welfare
should not now implement a doctoral program, and concurs in the
wisdom of the School's non-implementation of that program. The
Committee believes that the program should not be implemented
until the whole question is reviewed again by the Graduate Academic
Council, when a new program may be approved. Meanwhile, the Com-
mittee recommends that the School not publicize its doctoral pro-
gram until such a program is truly operational and ready to re-
ceive students.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE - PAGE 2
2.
In principle, the Committee believes that a doctoral program in
Social Welfare has an appropriate place on this campus, particu-
larly in view of the location of this University in the State
Capital, and the opportunities which exist for policy research in
the area. Before such a program is launched, however, the School
needs to develop a research component. To assist in this effort
and to relieve the present workload, the Committee recommends the
allocation of an additional faculty line at a fairly senior level.
New faculty, of course, must have demonstrated a serious commitment
to significant research,
The School should make a serious effort to lighten the workload of
those faculty members who have definite research competence and
the energy to use that competence to some purpose.
+ The School should continue to improve the quality of the M.S.w.
program, which is generally acknowledged to be an admirable
enterprise. The undergraduate program must not be permitted to
erode the quality of the master's program, which, after all, is
the great strength of the School.
The School should be commended for its cooperation with other
schools and departments. The Select Committee recommends the
continuing exploration of ways in which the School may act
jointly with other parts of the University to enhance the
quality of its program.
SPECIAL ACADEMIC UNITS
JAMES E. ALLEN JR. COLLEGIATE CENTER
SUNY-Albany was one of the first institutions funded by the Carnegie
Foundation to undertake an experimental, time-shortened degree (TSD) pro-
gram primarily for students who had completed only three years of high
school, but who were sufficiently mature, and academically capable, of
beginning college at an earlier age. It was decided that selected college
freshmen also would be accepted into the program, but clearly its major
Purpose was to meet the needs of students who had not completed high
school, but were ready to begin college. An experimental interdisciplinary
curriculum in the Social Sciences, entitled "Man and His Institutions,"
was developed. Thus, the James E. Allen Jr. Collegiate Center was es-
tablished in 1972 and began classes that fall with 61 students under-
taking the simultaneous completion of their last year of high school
and first year of college. Funds from the original grant have been
depleted; the Center's resources are now derived almost totally from
the regular SUNY-Albany budget.
There are presently twenty positions associated with the Allen
Center (FTE faculty - 16.6), including the Dean and the Assistant to
the Dean. Fourteen of the faculty have the Ph.D. and five are in the
process of completing it. Three of the faculty and the Dean have sub-
stantial records of research and publications; ten have demonstrated
scholarly productivity in varying degrees; the remainder have virtually
none.
Teaching evaluations are generally good, with several of the faculty
having particularly excellent records in this area. The advisement pro-
cedures in the Center appear strong; a system of individual contracting
permits considerable latitude for students in choosing the means of com-
pleting their programs.
An early study by the Center seems to indicate that the college
grade point average of the students in its programs may be higher than
similarly situated students who matriculate in the regular University
program. However, the problems of developing a comparable control group,
and the fact that the Allen Center students take a high proportion of
their courses in the Center, make the results of this early study in-
conslusive at best.
The Center has had difficulty in attracting enough qualified stu-
dent applicants, who had completed their junior year of high school,
to reach projected enrollment levels of 150 new TSD students in each
of its first few years. Following the 1972 entering class of 61 TSD
students, the 1973 class consisted of 109 TSD students and 54 regular
college freshmen who elected to take the Center program, while the
1974 class was made up of 120 TSD students and 27 college freshmen.
Applications for the 1975-76 academic year, as of the end of the first
week of April 1975, underscore the continuance of this problem: total
applications numbered 129 compared to 134 in'1973 and 135 in 1974.
Of the seventy-three students who had been admitted for next year,
only approximately fifty percent were TSD students.
JAMES E, ALLEN JR. COLLEGIATE CENTER - PAGE 2
While the Center employs several admission measures including aptitude
scores, recommendations and an essay, its difficulty in recruiting students
does not appear to stem from any unusually stringent admission standards im-
posed on its entering students. For example, the mean high school grade point
average of the first 61 admissions was 86.2, compared to a mean of 90.7 for
the regular freshman class entering the University. In the intervening
time, the grade point averages of students entering the Center have
risen slightly: in 1973 the mean was 87.4, and in 1974 it increased
to 88.8. Comparative averages for incoming University freshmen were 90.0
and 90.7 in 1973 and 1974, respectively.
Another concern with which the Center has had to cope has been the
relatively high attrition rate among its students. At the end of the
Center's first year of operation (1973) approximately half of the students
had left the program; a somewhat higher percentage of new entrants had
left at the end of 1974. The 1973-74 Annual Report of the Center pointed
out that attrition cannot be viewed automatically as a failure of the TSD
experiment, but may be a commentary on curriculum choice, since many of
the students who left the Center transferred into University College.
Though there may be merit to this point of view, the level of attrition
in this specialized program must be a matter of concern.
It should be noted that the University does provide other opportunities
for special students that closely resemble those of the Allen Center. Out-
standing high school juniors may apply for early admission if they have
the necessary credentials. An additional selective admissions procedure
is available through the special talent program. Students with special
ability who may not qualify for admission under regular University reg—
ulations, may seek entrance through this program for particular fields
of study. Also, the University offers many interdisciplinary studies pro-
grams by faculty members in various disciplines; this opportunity is avail-
able for those students who do not wish to concentrate in a specific dis-
cipline.
Recommendation
Research has not yet identified with certainty the distinct benefits
of the Allen Collegiate Center. However, the Select Committee is convinced
that enough information is available to make a prudent decision as to whether
the Center should be continued at this University Center. It is the firm
judgment of the Select Committee that it should not.
The major element of this Program, the time shortened degree » has not
drawn significant numbers of students; its termination would have little
effect on the educational system of the state. TSD programs continue to
operate in other SUNY four-year college centers. Further, SUNY-Albany,
with its very restricted budget situation and heavy student demand for ad-
mission (which cannot be met), is hard pressed to place a high priority
on a time shortened degree program for high school students, especially
one with a marginal demand.
JAMES E. ALLEN JR. COLLEGIATE CENTER - PAGE 3
Finally, while the curriculum of the Allen Center is interesting,
it is not sufficiently distinct to warrant a special program which lays
claim to a significant investment of resources. The members of the
Select Committee carefully considered the mission and sub-goals of the
Center, and were convinced that in the main these can be achieved, with
modest adjustments, through existing University departments and programs
described above.
The Allen Collegiate Center represents a significant investment of
SUNY-Albany resources -- it is among the most expensive undergraduate
programs on this campus ($52.00 per credit hour completed). While
these costs may be reduced somewhat when the Center enrolls its fourth
class, they are quite likely to stay well above the average of the
Social Science Division, which is $36.00 per credit hour completed.
Its benefits do not offset the commitment of resources which are badly
needed by other programs more central to this University Center's mission.
In making these recommendations, the Select Committee wishes to
underscore its recognition of the energy and commitment that members
of the Allen Center have brought to this program. It is hoped that the
positive aspects will be absorbed and diffused throughout the University's
undergraduate programs. However, the Committee finds that the resources
of the University do not warrant the inclusion of the Allen Center as a
permanent part of the University.
COLLEGE OF GENERAL STUDIES
The College of General Studies, initiated some nine years ago,
is chiefly organized to provide special opportunities for non-matriculated
students who engage in part-time study, on a credit or non-credit basis.
There are presently about 1,000 students enrolled per semester in
credit courses; about one-third of these are transfer students. In
the spring of 1969, 125 students were enrolled in non-credit courses ;
by the fall of 1973, 564 students were enrolled in such courses, which
bring in about $100,000 annually. In some ways, the College may also
provide an educational opportunity for students who have been denied
admission to the regular undergraduate college; work in the College
Prepares such students to gain such admission at a later stage.
The College is staffed by a Dean, two persons of professorial
rank; five NTP's (chiefly concerned with advising), and three other
half-time persons who are variously employed. Advising and counseling
take up a significant amount of professional work load in the College.
The University has provided seven partial lines (six in 1975-6) worth
$1,500 each, to pay the instructors of General Studies courses. A
number of regular University courses, taught by regular instructors,
but given after five P-m., are utilized by the College.
In 1974, an undergraduate degree in the College of General Studies
was conditionally authorized. Since that time, the College has been
working on its curriculum for this program, which will not duplicate
existing programs, but will be designed specifically for persons who
want a degree in General Studies. The program will include 48 credits
exclusively at the upper-division level.
Admission to the program will be severely limited, to ensure that
no more than 150 students are enrolled at one time. All courses will
be given after five p-m. It appears that planning for this program
is directed toward the special character and interests of those
students for whom the College of General Studies is a particularly
appropriate educational medium.
Recommendations:
ecommendations
The College of General Studies plays an important and in some
ways a unique role in the University. It responds to a significant
local, social need, and it is looking imaginatively to the future,
Its programs should be continued at the present level of resources.
The Select Committee urges departments to offer additional courses
after 5:00 p.m. and on Saturdays in order to better serve the growing
needs of the College of General Studies.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
The Educational Opportunities Program (EOP), initiated in 1968,
includes seven instructional lines (allocated to renewable lecture-
ships) and two administrative lines: these nine lines are funded
by the University, while external funds from S.E.E.K. (Search for Ele-
vation of Education and Knowledge) in the amount of some $27,000,
together with temporary service funds, are used to pay for a number
of tutors and counselors. In addition, several departments provide
courses designed for EOP students. These "high intensity" courses
facilitate the students’ movement through elementary work in the de-
partment, to ensure that these students will then be able to keep
up with non-EOP students in regular courses.
EOP students receive direct aid from S.E.E.K. funds; the EOP
supplements this with money from various federal and state agencies.
Each student receives about $1,100 from S.E.E.K. and about $1,700
from other sources.
There are presently about 800 students in the program. Of these,
260 entered in the fall of 1974; about a third of that number en-
tered developmental courses. While entering students are technically
"disadvantaged," they seem to fare quite well after their remedial
work. According to figures provided by the Office of Institutional
Research, the reported "success ratio" of EOP to non-EOP students
in regular university courses is 87%. Of the 253 students who had
graduated by December 1974, 27% received honors upon graduation. Of
the 159 graduates whose whereabouts are known, 69 are in graduate and
professional schools; many more are employed in various professional
capacities.
The Select Committee believes that the Educational Opportunities
Program is doing an effective job. It is attracting students with
academic potential. While the scholastic records of these students
may not have been impressive, they have given evidences of promise;
the program makes it possible for them to make up deficiencies, then
move on to regular university courses.
Recommendations:
The program should be continued at the same level of support,
including external funding. Directors of the EOP have suggested
that a summer program could hasten the students' movement into
regular courses; the Select Committee supports this proposal, provided
that the program is externally funded.
10.
ll.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
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